Dark Flight
by TheDoctor36
Summary: Sierra Prospero refuses to submit to her lifemate, Zane Von Shrieder.
1. Dark Flight Chapter One

**Dark Flight**

_Sierra Prospero refuses to submit to her lifemate…_

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Carpathian series: Christine Feehan does. Any relation to any other stories is coincidental, I promise._

Sierra Prospero was in the middle of dinner with her latest boyfriend, Damien. They were seated at a table near the middle of the room in her favorite restaurant in Washington, D.C. Sierra's mind was wandering, and she was looking around curiously when she noticed a man sitting alone in the most shadowy corner in the restaurant. The stranger had dark eyes, and hair, and was dressed entirely in dark clothes, not unusual, but usually seen on younger generations. The man seemed to stare at her continuously, almost uncontrollably.

This was human nature, of course. People usually want to look around and watch other people. It is simply a system of evaluating yourself and your own actions. However, it is also human nature to pretend you aren't being rude and gawking by looking away when you are caught at it. This man was different. His gaze was blatant and open, deliberately sexual. Sierra found it hard to tear herself away from his scrutiny to pay attention to her boyfriend, who was deep in his latest string of complaints.

"…never want to touch me, Sierra. You know I want to go to the next level, but whenever I try, you always make some excuse to get away, or put me off until later, when you'll give me another excuse. Frankly, I'm sick of it."

Frankly, Sierra was sick of it, too. It wasn't that she didn't want to touch Damien; it was just that she seemed to get ill whenever she tried. Still, since she didn't want to be lonely for the rest of her life, she tried to placate him. "Damien, I'm sorry. I've just been feeling a little strange lately. Maybe we could try again tonight?"

Damien threw his hands up in the air dramatically. "When you can make up another excuse? No. We're going to do this right now, and if you don't like it, do what all other women do and pretend that you like it."

Sierra gaped. "Excuse me? This is my body, I can do with it what I please, and when. If you don't like the wait, then you can just break up with me and move on to someone who will give you whatever you want."

She moved to leave, but Damien caught her hand in a crushing grip. Wincing in the pain of her hand bones bending, Sierra tried to pull her hand back. In response, Damien dug his slightly long fingernails into her palm. Why had she ever been attracted to him? The mystery deepened as he bared his short, mousy teeth and hissed, "Now you listen, honey. I've never broken up with a woman before she put out, and I'm not going to break that tradition now. Let's go outside."

While she gasped at his crude and offensive language, he dug his nails in deeper, to the point they dug into Sierra's palm, and dragged her outside. He pinned her to the wall and started kissing her, ignoring her attempts to free herself. Sierra thought desperately of her pepper spray, secure inside her purse, which was still inside the restaurant. She began to beat at Damien's face with her free fist, but he easily trapped both of her wrists in one hand, holding them tightly against the rough brick wall. Furiously, Sierra screamed as loud as she could against Damien's mouth, but quickly stopped as she saw the excited glint in his eyes get brighter.

Zane Von Shrieder began to get concerned when the woman he had been watching did not reappear. He had assumed the couple was leaving, until he had caught sight of the purse the woman had left behind. After several minutes, she still had not returned to claim her forgotten property. Any woman would have noticed the absence of her purse only moments after mislaying it. Zane cursed to himself as he realized that the fear coming off of her had not been the fear of being broken up with, but the fear of someone who was being forced to do something against their will. Still muttering to himself, Zane leapt up, grabbed the woman's purse, and followed her scent outside.

The mixture of strawberries, spices, and fear wafted out of a nearby alleyway, where the fear was almost overpowering the woman's natural scent. A muffled scream echoed out, and Zane rushed away from the restaurant. "Hey, buddy!" An angry voice sounded behind him. With a glare, Zane spun to confront the man he vaguely recognized as the waiter who had brought Zane's wine and untouched food. "What is the problem, sir?" Zane asked smoothly.

The irate waiter calmed a minute amount at Zane's polite demeanor. "Well, sir, you forgot to pay for your meal."

Zane carelessly tossed several one-hundred dollar bills at him. "Will this cover the expenses?" The waiter glanced down at the currency in surprise, and his eyes grew bigger as he took in the large amount.

"Uh…yeah…Hang on, I'll get you some change." The waiter turned as if to go back inside, and Zane sighed inwardly. Never had he seen a human so honest. This man was not going to take advantage of the money Zane had given him.

"No need," Zane said quickly. "Keep the change." He could read in the human's mind that he was going to decline. Zane did not like to do things like this, but the woman was still in trouble. He had to get to her! "Take the money. Buy your wife something nice on your way home," Zane commanded, and the waiter dazedly agreed. Quickly, before anything else could delay him, the Carpathian rushed off to the alleyway to rescue his lifemate.

While her mind worked on another plan, Sierra let her body go limp, and was surprised when she slid easily from Damien's grasp. After ducking under his arms, she began to sprint toward the front of the alleyway, where she could hear people, but Damien reached out and seized her ankle, tripping her. Sierra landed heavily, and the blow of her head hitting concrete momentarily stunned her, long enough for Damien to pick her back up and pin her to the wall once again. Unfortunately, she was completely lucid when Damien bitch-slapped her across the face. Still, it wasn't in Sierra's nature to go without a fight, so she booted Damien's leg as hard as she could with her pointy-toed high heels.

The unpleasant man flinched and swore, but didn't release her. Instead, he drew back a fist, which he fired toward her face. Sierra tried to keep still, refusing to let him see her flinch, but she couldn't help closing her eyes. After a second, they popped open again as nothing hit her, and she heard Damien's cry of pain.

The sight that greeted her eyes was pleasant, yet confusing. Damien was dangling from his collar, which was being gripped from behind. His feet were nearly ten inches off of the ground. He was swinging slightly, back and forth, and his eyes were bulging. Half a second later, there was a tearing sound, and Damien hit the ground roughly, face up. A black streak was on top of him almost immediately, and the sounds of fighting could be heard.

When the scuffle subsided, Damien was lying on the ground, bleeding from several cuts, his mouth, and nose. Towering over him was the man from the restaurant earlier, who looked totally unscathed. His gaze flicked over her quickly, and then darted up to study her face. "Are you all right?" He asked worriedly. Sierra nodded, speechless, still stunned from both her encounter, and her rescue, not to mention rescuer.

While he was focused on her, Damien began to move around. Flipping onto his stomach, he stood slowly, but the stranger didn't seem to notice. Damien glared at Sierra. "I'm going to get you, you stupid bitch!" He rushed toward her with his fists raised. The stranger, who was standing between them with his back to Damien, raised his right arm and stretched it firmly out to the side. Damien didn't see the outstretched arm until it was too late, and caught an elbow in the throat. Smoothly, the man used his arm to push Damien back to the ground, and then placed the heel of his shoe on Damien's nose.

Damien's cry of pain almost drowned out the sound of his nasal cartilage snapping. Sierra winced, and lowered herself to the ground, against the wall that she had been held against so recently. It wasn't Sierra's favorite place, by any means, but her knees refused to hold her up any longer. However, she couldn't take her eyes off of the scene in front of her. The dark stranger knelt next to Damien, and with one solid blow to the cheek, knocked him into unconsciousness.

The man then straightened and walked slowly over to where Sierra was sitting, holding his hands palm out. "It is all right," he said soothingly, in a mesmerizing voice. "I will not harm you. Are you injured in any way?"

Sierra shook her head. The stranger crouched unthreateningly next to her, and gently touched his pointer finger to the side of her mouth, and came away with blood. "Can you not feel this?" He inquired.

Sierra became aware of a pounding pain in the side of her face that Damien had slapped. "Ow," she whispered.

The man's lips quirked and he extracted a snowy white handkerchief from his pocket. With a slight flourish, he offered it to her. When she didn't take it, he raised it to her mouth and dabbed at her split lip soothingly. Sierra found her voice. "How did you know to come and find me?"

The man reached back into the backpack he was wearing and pulled out her purse. "I believe you left this behind. Women do not forget their purses for more than five minutes at a time, so when you did not reappear to claim it, I noticed that something was wrong. When I walked outside, I heard a scream from this alley. When I looked in, I saw that _imbecile_," he spat the word as if it was bitter, "attacking you, I could not help but to offer my aid."

"Thank you," Sierra breathed. "I don't know what he would have done if you hadn't come along."

The man's eyes grew even more grave, and they glittered dangerously. "Men like that do not deserve the title. A true gentleman would never force a lady to do what she was unwilling to."

Sierra's eyes sparked with a question, but realization soon hit her, and she blushed. "Oh, I suppose you heard us in the restaurant, huh?"

The stranger nodded. "It was difficult not to overhear. Your… _boyfriend_ made no attempt to lower his voice. A true gentleman would never discuss such a delicate matter in public, no matter how frustrated he was."

Smiling sadly, Sierra said, "It's just a shame that there aren't very many 'true gentlemen' walking around anymore. I doubt that I've ever met one."

Eyes smiling, the man said, "Would you like to make the acquaintance of a true gentleman?" Sierra nodded, and the man reached out to gently grasp her hand. "Greetings, my lady, my name is Zane Von Shrieder, and it was truly my honor to aid you this evening." With that, he lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it before returning it to her lap.

Zane's heart nearly stopped as he waited for a reply from the woman. She glanced from him to her hand, and then her gaze switched back to him. Her mouth stretched in a wide smile. "It is exceedingly nice to meet you, Zane. My name is Sierra Prospero, and I am very much obliged to you for rescuing me."

Sierra. A lovely name for a lovely woman. His lifemate was a truly unique person. He gave himself a moment to luxuriate in the reappearance of his emotions and colors. Sierra's skin was palest cream with a slight red blush in her cheeks. Already, the right side of her face was beginning to swell from the blow delivered from the hand of her soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend. A smaller mouth was graced with a single delicate lip piercing, on the lower left side. The presence of a proud, Italian nose gave her face character without overwhelming her other features. Sierra's darker brows and long, dark lashes stood out on her pale face, framing deep green eyes. Rich, brown hair cascaded in wild spirals nearly to her waist.

Sierra was dressed conservatively in a blue scoop-neck blouse and dark jeans with black heels. It drove him crazy, but what surprised him the most was how much affection he already had for her. Zane had not expected his emotions to overwhelm him, as he had only been without them for a mere two centuries. His cousin, Vikirnoff, had warned him that the rush was difficult to control, but Zane had not been inclined to listen.

Zane could now hardly contain his excitement. More and more of his people had been finding their lifemates, but there were still hundreds, if not thousands, that were on the brink of insanity. And, with this new century with fresh and exciting things to do, many Carpathians were not willing to greet the dawn; they would rather keep living in the only way possible to them. Still, _he_ had found his lifemate. All that was left to do was to fully claim her. At this point, he was in a powerful place. He had rescued Sierra from a bad situation, and she saw him as a hero. If he wanted, Zane could take advantage of that, but then she would feel tricked, betrayed, and unwilling to submit to his superior judgment.

However, if Zane chose to play the shy, innocent young man role, Sierra would find it endearing, and she would be more willing to spend time with him, in his care. He must be careful to not overplay the role. Sierra had already seen him take care of her ridiculous and insipid boyfriend. If he played the shy and meek part too well, she would know something was up.

"Zane?" Sierra queried. He had been quiet too long. Maybe he hadn't wanted her to thank him. He might be from one of those countries that think apologizing is an insult, or a sign of weakness. From his accent and speech patterns, Sierra had ascertained that he wasn't native to America.

"Sierra, I must apologize. I was lost in my own thoughts, though it is criminal to ignore beauty such as yours." She could feel herself blushing, and tried her best to smother it. Flattery seemed as natural to him as breathing; it wouldn't do to think of it as more than that.

Suddenly aware that she was still sitting on the ground with him crouched beside her, she moved to stand. Zane rested a gentle hand on her shoulder, holding her down until he had straightened up. Then, carefully, he grasped her hand and her elbow, and helped her to her feet. Though she knew it was rude, Sierra couldn't help but stare. His every motion was filled with old-world grace, and he was extremely charming. This is what always got her into trouble, over-romanticizing every movement of her boyfriends. She had a sneaking suspicion though, that with Zane, it was all natural: she wasn't doing anything, he was just that charming.

"Thank you," she murmured softly as he steadied her.

He sketched a slight bow, and then said formally, "Sierra Prospero, it would be my honor if you would allow me to escort you to the police station to report the atrocious behavior of this…person."

Sierra smiled slightly. "Zane Von Shrieder, I would love to accompanied almost anywhere by you, but for tonight, I must decline. I really don't feel like going much of anywhere."

Zane frowned. "You could not have eaten very much earlier. At least allow me to take you back inside where you can finish your meal."

Sierra shook her head. "I'm not really hungry. I just want to go home."

"Sierra, you did not live with that man, did you? You may not be safe."

"Thank you for the concern, Zane, but Damien and I lived separately. He had a key to my apartment, however, so I'll just take that and head home. I'll probably change the locks sometime tomorrow."

Sierra couldn't figure out exactly why Zane was drawing this out, but she was exhausted, and felt like she was going to be sick soon. It would be best if she simply went home, though she would have liked to see where this thing went. Sierra was removing her apartment key when Zane spoke again.

Softly, so that she could barely hear him, he said, "Sierra, I must admit, I am extremely attracted to you. If you would not mind, I would like very much to contact you again. I… I do not think I am quite ready to say farewell to you yet."

With her lips slightly parted, Sierra turned around with her key in her grasp. Should she allow Zane to contact her again?

Sierra did not realize it, but when she thought, her tongue played with the piercing that ran through her bottom lip. Zane watched intently as she flicked the small piece of metal back and forth, and then pulled her lip back to run the piercing between her teeth and suck gently on it. She was killing him! He could almost believe that she was doing this on purpose, except for the fact that her eyes were dreamy and staring off into the distance as she considered letting him contact her again.

Suddenly, awareness came back into her eyes, and she released the piercing. In a smooth motion, Sierra held out her fist. With a sinking feeling, Zane realized that she most likely wanted to say goodbye in the American tradition of shaking hands. He would let her think that she was getting rid of him, but he would be back. He was never going to get rid of him.

Sighing resignedly, Zane looked down at her hand. It was still in a fist. Was she going to hit him? He reached out slightly, and she nodded her head, indicating that she wanted him to hold his hand under her closed fist. Puzzled, Zane complied. What was this odd American tradition? Sierra's fist opened, and something cold hit his hand. Looking down, he saw the key that she had just taken from Damien's key ring. He thought he knew what this meant, but was he interpreting this correctly?

"What is this?" Zane asked gently.

"It's the key to my apartment. I don't know if Damien will try to get back at me like he promised, but if he's planning something, we should probably keep in contact."

Zane did understand. She wanted to be able to see him and talk to him without seeming like she was making a commitment. "Probably," he agreed indulgently. She would come to accept the feelings she already had for him in time.

"Also," Sierra said, digging in her purse, "here's my cell phone number." She jotted down some numbers in even, neat script and handed him the paper.

Zane felt pained. If he didn't give her a cell phone number, Sierra may feel as though he didn't want to keep in contact. "Unfortunately, my cell phone was stolen a few days ago, and I have not had time to replace it yet. I will call you as soon as I get a new one. Is that all right?" He had heard some of the others use that excuse to businesses whenever they asked for cellular phone numbers, and he hoped that it would work on Sierra.

It did. "That's terrible," she said sympathetically. "Yeah, just call when you have a new cell, no rush."

Zane nodded gravely. "I will. Now, you must at least allow me to escort you home. You never know what kind of strange people are roaming the streets at night in this city."

Sierra grinned at his obvious attempt to spend more time with her. "Sure, you can walk me home. I don't live too far away."

Relieved, Zane offered her his arm, and she accepted, her eyes lighting up at his chivalry. He mentally checked on the human male as they walked by. Damien would be unconscious long enough for Zane to walk Sierra home, return, and command him to leave Sierra alone. Of course, Zane would still keep in touch with Sierra, in case Damien would magically get back in touch.

Sierra let herself into her apartment with a sigh. The walk home with Zane had been an interesting one, with Zane pointing out various places of interest and telling her some historical facts. It was amazing, all of the things that the man knew. She had been on nearly every tour of Washington that was offered, including the ghost tours, and yet none of them had given information that Zane spouted so casually.

Walking through the apartment in a slight daze, Sierra was humming a familiar tune to herself. She suspected that she was in a little bit of shock, but it wore off fast as she caught sight of a bouquet of roses that Damien had gotten for her, after her many subtle and not-so-subtle requests. The red of the roses suddenly seemed too bright, and the events of the pre-Zane night slammed into her. Sierra managed to dart into the bathroom and kneel before the toilet before losing everything in her stomach.

From there, it was a short trek to the shower, where she spent a significant amount of time, trying to warm her cold skin, and wash away the feeling of Damien's mouth on hers. Eventually, Sierra gave out and reluctantly clambered out of the shower. She dried off and dressed in her most comfy pajamas before wiping down the mirror with the edge of her towel. She caught a glimpse of her swollen face and tearstained eyes before letting out a sob and going back to the living room. Sierra grasped the roses, raced out onto the balcony, and tossed the roses into a Dumpster nearby. The sound of the flowers hitting the metal box ten stories down was music to her vindictive ears. She darted back inside and frantically glanced around for more evidence of her relationship with Damien.

Nothing. Damien hadn't been the most caring boyfriend she'd ever had.

Sierra was just beginning to relax on the couch and read her book when she saw something out of the corner of her eye that sent chills racing up her spine. There was a bloody handprint on the door. Rising slowly, Sierra walked toward the door, never taking her eyes off of the handprint. Her first instinct was to call the police, but she noted that the handprint was far too small to be Damien's. Besides, she was ten stories up in the air.

He would have to be crazy to try to climb that high.

Still, Sierra flicked the light on and knelt to study the blood. It was fresh, extremely fresh. Another flash of color caught her eye, another handprint on the light switch. There was another flash of color, this one from below. Sierra's eyes darted down, only to see that her hand was glistening with fresh blood: her own.

The roses must have had thorns, and when she grasped the stems, she had put multiple cuts all over her fingers and palms. How far gone must she have been to not feel the gashes? She stifled another sob, this one slightly hysterical. Damien was still hurting her, and he wasn't even here. She was getting wound tighter and tighter, and Sierra knew instinctively that it wouldn't be too much longer until she completely blew up.

Sierra did her best to completely absorb herself in cleaning the blood off of the door and light switch, meticulously bathing each cut with peroxide, applying antibacterial ointment, and bandaging everything she could. She made herself a glass of tea, and relaxed again with her book. She was re-reading one of her favorite book series, the Carpathian series. Right now, she was only on Gregori and Savannah's book '_Dark Magic_'.

Gregori's audacity soon had taken her mind off of the events of that evening. Gradually, Sierra grew tired, and went to bed, where she slept soundly and dreamlessly.


	2. Dark Flight Chapter Two

Damien was gone.

Zane had gone back to the alley as soon as Sierra was safely inside of her apartment. He had been able to move more quickly when he was alone, though he missed Sierra and her refreshing points of view already. He had not been gone more that fifteen minutes, and Damien had not been supposed to awaken for at least another half hour.

Zane stiffened. He felt… there. The taint of evil was unusually strong in this place, and when he inhaled, the scent of vampire was everywhere, in places intermixing with the scent of the abusive human male. Zane cursed. The vampire had taken Damien off to its lair. Most likely, the vampire had witnessed the entire scene in the alleyway, and knew that it could use Damien to endanger Sierra, thus drawing Zane out into the open.

The vampire would not make its move tonight, it would wait until another time, when the sun was just beginning to set, and then it would set Damien free, the same Damien whom had threatened to get even with Sierra.

Zane needed a way to keep in touch with Sierra during the day, and there was no such thing as an underground pay phone. He had to get to a place that sold cellular phones, but it was nearing midnight. He must move quickly, or likely risk putting Sierra in danger. As a Carpathian male, the very thought was abhorrent to him.

Zane walked out to a main street and wandered, searching for an open store. It didn't take very long. After all, this was a city, and a major one at that. Eventually, Zane walked out of the Radio Shack with a brand new cell phone, complete with plan. When he had helped Sierra stand up, he had noted the slight calluses on the edges of her thumbs, which indicated that she texted a significant amount. Part of Zane's new plan was unlimited texting.

The first thing Zane did was to pull out his phone and the number Sierra had given him. As soon as her cell phone number was entered in his phone, he typed out a quick text, following the instructions the teenaged clerk had given him after she was done looking at him as though he was an idiot.

Five minutes passed, and then ten. Zane started to worry, but then noted the time: two thirty in the morning. Most likely, Sierra had long gone to bed. Well, at least the text would be waiting for her when she awoke the next morning. She would write him back, he was certain of it. However, he needed to go feed for the night, and then get home. Maybe he could sleep for a while until Sierra texted him back.

The morning was bright when Sierra woke up. Birds were chirping, there was a slight breeze, and she didn't have to work today. Best of all, she had gotten rid of Damien last night, and had met Zane. The few thoughts Sierra was having all told her to have fun today and relax. Tomorrow was an early work morning.

Sierra's parents had left her a significant amount of money, enough that she could buy a really nice, really big house and all of the fixings for it. However, Sierra had been young when they had passed, and an apartment suited her better than a house. In the six years since their deaths, Sierra had worked hard, lived below her means, and made a few important stock market decisions. Now twenty-five years old, she had tripled the amount her parents had left, and really never needed to work again. But Sierra was more the type to work and have a nest egg for the hard times. What could she say? Sierra had a problem with being helpless.

The cell phone that Sierra had left lying on her bedside table let out a soft beep, indicating that Sierra had a text message. She picked up the phone and pressed the buttons that would show the message.

_Good evening, my darling Sierra. I have acquired a new cell phone. If you do not know who this is, I shall be very upset with you. When you get the chance, please do message me back._

Sierra smiled to herself. Zane was so formal, it was a wonder he ever really said anything instead of just a lot of fluffy nonsense. It would be up to her to teach him about the texting language.

Zane was startled awake by a buzzing noise. He rolled off of the bed and landed in a crouch, glancing around. Nothing seemed wrong, but what had that horrible noise been? Something on the floor of the other side of the bed began to glow brightly. Squinting, Zane walked carefully around the bed, and found that it was his phone. It was set to vibrate when it received a new text. He smiled as he realized that Sierra had finally texted him back, but the smile quickly turned to a frown. What kind of strange code was this message written in?

_Hey. 'Sup? Fast job w/the nw phn. I knw this is Zane. Msg me back._

Giving up on deciphering the message, Zane concentrated on typing out a new message.

As her phone beeped, Sierra grinned. How had he liked her exaggerated texting language?

_I apologize, but I fear I am not quite as accomplished at texting as you are. Perhaps you could help me? When can we get together for our first texting lesson?_

The man was incorrigible. What to write now?

The cell phone buzzed again, but this time, Zane was prepared. He only jumped slightly, and almost knew which buttons to press to see Sierra's latest message. He hoped that she took the hint and would agree to go out with him tonight. He needed to get her away from her apartment in case Damien struck tonight.

_Lol. I thnk ur hlpless txtng! :P Do u wanna go sumwhr 2nght?_

How frustrating! Zane got the distinct impression she was laughing at him, but he did not know for sure. He also did not know if she had accepted his offer to go out tonight. Sighing, he let his head dangle off to the side. Wait a second… The colon and the capital 'p' looked like a little face at this angle! A face sticking out its tongue. Maybe this was how texting worked. He obligingly turned the phone sideways. No, this did not work any better. Sighing, Zane decided to try his best.

Sierra was almost to the point where she was going to take mercy on Zane. After all, the poor guy really didn't know anything about texting. Another beep was emitted by the phone, and she opened the text up on the screen.

_I do not understand what you are saying. Perhaps that was an order for me to beg your hand in marriage? I do not know, however, if I do not understand the next text, I will not hesitate to ask you to marry me, and it will be in a very public place._

Gaping at the thinly veiled, high-handed threat, Sierra texted back as quickly as she could.

Zane smirked as he opened the text message. It had not taken long at all for Sierra to respond that time. Plus, this way he could find out how open she would be to a relationship between the two of them.

_You monster! Fine then, I asked if you wanted to meet somewhere tonight. Marriage is a little high for an aspiration right now; I think an actual date somewhere in there would be appropriate._

That was better. And it appeared that Sierra was open to a date with him. Zane knew that he may not get another chance, so this date must be spectacular.

Sierra braced herself as yet another text was received. Holding her breath, she accepted and opened it. After reading it, she gave a little gasp. Zane had texted her the address for an extremely classy, extremely fancy restaurant. Damien never would have done something like that.

Another soft beep came from the phone that she still held in her shocked grasp. The newest text said,

_By any chance, do you own a gown you could wear tonight? If not, I would be happy to pay for your new dress._

Snorting ungracefully to herself, Sierra typed a quick response.

Zane opened his newest text from Sierra.

_Thanks, but I'll just get one myself. I've needed a fancy gown for a while now._

Zane frowned, now wanting for her to have to pay for a gown herself because of his date idea, but if her independence demanded that she do so, he would allow her to buy her own clothing. He wrote another message and sent it to her.

After she was done getting dressed, Sierra perched in her favorite chair and checked her cell phone. Sure enough, there was a new message from Zane.

_As nice as it is that I finally got you to write your words in English, I must admit, I grow tired of this type of communication. Would you allow me to call you?_

Sierra typed back what was probably the shortest text she had ever sent.

_Yes._

The single-word answer to Zane's request filled him with joy. Thus far, Sierra had been agreeable to his advances, small as they may be. He very much hoped the trend continued.

Breathlessly, Zane dialed the now-familiar number and waited for Sierra to pick up.

"Hello?" Her voice was slightly curious, which confused Zane, as he had been sure she had known who was calling.

"Sierra? It is me, Zane."

"Hi, Zane. What's up?"

Sierra's voice sounded stiff and uncomfortable. Zane rushed to tell her what he had hoped would come out at a more convenient time. "I have awoken, and all of my thoughts were filled with you. I cannot tell you how happy I am that you agreed to talk to me." Zane winced. That may have been giving a little too much of himself away. He hoped she wouldn't shy away from his accidental intensity.

"Of course! I love talking to you; it's just that I haven't talked to many men on the phone. I don't seem to be very good at it. I was thinking of you, too." Her voice wreaked havoc on his senses, filling his mind and soul with the happiness of knowing his lifemate. He was also happy that she had not gotten to know many others. Competition was never a good thing, not that he was not confident.

"I think you are wonderful to talk to on the telephone. Other men do not know what they are missing."

A soft laugh echoed its way to him. When she spoke, Sierra's voice was lowered in a conspirators whisper. "Let's keep it between us, though. Okay?"

He chuckled back. "All right. I would not share you with anyone, so you do not have to worry about that."

Sierra tried to take the comment as lightly as it was intended, but the relationship she had just gotten out of wouldn't let her do that. She shuddered silently, and heard Zane's deep, comforting voice speaking once again.

"Oh, Sierra, I apologize. You probably do not want to hear that, considering what you went through last night."

She was quiet for another second, and then said, "It's just hard to get past. I'll be okay in a little bit."

When Zane next spoke, his voice was filled with pride. "I know you will, love. You are an amazingly strong person. I am sure that you will bounce back from that incident and be as good as new in no time at all. I admire you for your strength and resilience. But let us speak of other things for now. You do not need to relive the occurrences of last night at this moment."

How had he known? She was reliving last night even as he spoke, but he was right. Agonizing over last night would do nothing now. She made an effort to change the subject. "I wouldn't expect someone with the last name Von Shrieder to have a first name like Zane," Sierra observed. "Is it a nickname?"

Zane sighed. "I had hoped that we would not come to this subject so soon. The name Zane is hard to explain, but if you want to know, I will tell you. You are right. Zane is not my true first name. My first name is really Alakzandir. I came to the nickname 'Zane' because, spoken in my mother's accent, my name sounds like 'Alek-zane-der'. That is why I call myself Zane. It is much easier to say than Alakzandir, do you not agree?"

"Yeah," Sierra said. "I can see why you have that nickname now. Do your siblings have such colorful names?"

"I have no siblings, but growing up, I was very close to my cousins. Their names are Nicolae and Vikirnoff."

"Wow," Sierra sounded impressed. "Nicolae isn't so bad, but Vikirnoff? There aren't any good nicknames for that, is there?"

Zane's voice sounded a little darker as he answered, but he was still polite. "His life…wife calls him Vik, but he does not like that. He says it is not dignified."

Sierra laughed. "I suppose it isn't. What's his wife like?"

"Well, her name is Natalya. She is Vikirnoff's little tiger. She is very fierce and protective, and likes to watch movies, as well as quote them from time to time. Poor Vikirnoff often does not know what she is saying."

Sierra laughed again. "That must be funny to see. And is Nicolae married, too?"

Once again, Zane's voice sounded a shade menacing, but Sierra tried to ignore it. "Yes, Nicolae has a… wife. Her name is Destiny. Destiny is a very strong person; she lived with a very painful disease for most of her life. With Nicolae's help, she has been treated, and now lives a pain-free life."

"Aww," Sierra said, "that's so sweet. Both of your cousins sound nice, but I doubt they could compare to you. Speaking of you, I have to get going if I'm going to buy a dress for tonight. What time should we meet at the restaurant?"

Zane paused, and when he spoke, his voice was slightly puzzled at the rapid subject change, yet amused. "Shall I pick you up at seven?"

It was rather late to be picked up, but Sierra did want to see Zane tonight, so she agreed. "Yes, that will be fine. Are you going to dress up too, or am I going to feel stupidly overdressed?"

"You should never feel stupid about anything you do, Sierra, and you don't have to worry, I am going to dress up as well. I will see you tonight."

Oddly enough, Sierra didn't want the conversation to end. However, she really did have to get going. "Okay, see you. Bye."

"Goodbye, love." Zane's voice made it even harder to take the phone away from her ear and press end, but she managed.

Resting her hands in her lap, Sierra stared blankly at the wall. What on Earth was wrong with her? She usually wasn't attracted to men, and on the few occasions she was, she was never comfortable enough with them to have a conversation, at least not one that she didn't want to end almost immediately. Oh, well. She had to go shop for a dress to wear tonight.


	3. Dark Flight Chapter Three

Dark Flight Chapter Three

Disclaimer: I do not own the Carpathian Series.

Zane lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling, which was partially concealed behind a web of darkness. He had a sense of urgency, but there was not anything he could do until the sun went down. In preparation for the date tonight, he had sent his suit to be cleaned last night. Presumptuous, maybe, but helpful all the same. The sun did not set until six thirty tonight. After then, he could retrieve his suit and quickly get cleaned up in time to arrive at Sierra's apartment on time. Sure, he could have simply manifested a suit to wear, but actually owning one helped his human image, which the prince insisted must be kept up at all times.

One of the main points Zane was turning over in his head was claiming Sierra as his lifemate tonight. He had not lost his colors and emotions too very long ago, and his cousin Vikirnoff had insisted on killing the vampire whenever the two hunted together, so Zane was not in any danger of turning vampire himself. He did not want to rush Sierra, and he did not want to tie Sierra to himself until she understood and accepted what he was.

After watching his cousins and other Carpathians struggle with their lifemates, the answer seemed clear to him. Zane would court Sierra until they were in love, then she would accept their bond and become fully Carpathian. The only exception to this was if Sierra showed signs of wanting to flee, in which case Zane would be forced to tie them together in the way of their people. He already cared deeply for Sierra, and was confident that she would grow to love him. He had sensed her hesitation earlier when the time came to end their conversation, and knew that she would soon be unable to live without him.

Sighing, Zane settled back against his mattress. The time could not pass quickly enough, in his opinion.

Later that day, Sierra let herself into her apartment, locked the door, set her purse and new dress on a table, and flopped down in her armchair. Shopping was hard work and it really wasn't her thing. Checking her watch, Sierra saw that it was five thirty. Since she had some time to kill, she decided that now would be a good time to finish her book. The dramatic ending was coming up, and would be the perfect thing to settle her down before it was time to get ready.

Cracking open the book, she sighed. The Carpathians were an amazing race – or would be if they were real. Gregori was such a difficult person, but Savannah was strong enough that he couldn't overpower her. The two were a perfect team.

Sierra could feel a bubble in her stream of thought. Something big was about to occur to her, but there wasn't any way to rush it. She propped her book open against the side of the chair and began to read.

_Zane!_

It was as simple as that. This wasn't the first time Sierra had read the Carpathian series, and something Zane had said earlier had been bugging her. His last name was _Von Shrieder_. That wouldn't be too impressive, though it couldn't be a common last name. After all, there was the disclaimer to consider. That small, one paragraph disclaimer in the front of every fiction book that broke reader's hearts:

_Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, etc. is entirely coincidental…_

Blah, blah, so on and so forth. However, he had spoken of his cousins Vikirnoff and Nicolae, both also with the last name Von Shrieder. That would almost be too much of a quirk to be ignored, but when you add in their _'wives'_ Destiny and Natalya? The chances of that were a million to one, if not more!

And what had Zane said? That Natalya was Vikirnoff's little tigress? If her memory served, Natalya could shift into a tigress! Plus, Destiny's '_painful disease'_ must have been the vampire blood she had been infected with as a small child.

Setting her book aside, Sierra took a deep breath. She had always been a fiction nut and a conspiracy theory believer. Add in the fact that she was obsessed with the supernatural, something like this was almost bound to happen. Most likely, she was just freaking out over nothing, and needed to get a hold on herself. Still, she was going to keep an eye on Zane.

It was criminal to leave this series in the relative beginning, but she needed to read something that wasn't about the Carpathians… or even vampires in general. She needed a clear mind if she was going to be suspicious. After she finished this book, she would move on to a different series.

Trying to settle down, Sierra read the rest of her book in a half hour, but she found it difficult to read outside of the realm of 'What if?'

By the time she was done with her book, it was six fifteen, and probably past time to get ready. Sierra swore softly, and dashed for the shower.

After letting his cousin Vikirnoff know what was going on, Zane called the dry cleaner where his suit had been sent. 'Vik' had suggested that he call to see if the cleaner delivered. It turned out that they did, and the suit would be there at six thirty. Zane got up and made his way to the bathroom that lay just off of his master suite. His face looked the same as always, but his eyes seemed brighter, or maybe that was simply the emotion burning out of them. But however good his eyes looked, he looked rather scruffy. He rubbed his jaw mournfully, and decided to take a shower instead of simply cleaning himself the Carpathian way. He had the time to kill, and a shower would relax him, but more than that, he felt his lifemate was worth it.

At five minutes until seven, Sierra took a step back and looked at herself in her full-length mirror, stifling a gasp. She looked pretty good, she thought. Her shining brown curls were gathered away from her temples to be clasped at the top of the back of her head, the ends left to flutter down with the rest of her hair, which hung freely in natural coils. Her dress was emerald green, which she knew would stand out at the restaurant they were going to. The bodice hugged her chest, green ribbons lacing up the back, and the dress was form-fitting down to her waist, where it flowed into a skirt that just brushed the tops of her feet, which were shod in black high-heeled sandals.

For jewelry, Sierra had gone with the idea that a little goes a long way. A silvery choker circled her slender neck, and she wore a silver cuff on one wrist. Her makeup was subtle, not overshadowing her features, just some eyeliner and mascara, and blush to edge her barely-there cheekbones. Her naturally pink lips seemed fine the way they were, so she left them the way they were, with just a slight layer of moisturizing lip balm. The lip piercing was a problem, but a delicate silver ring gave just the right touch that tied in with her other jewelry.

A small black clutch purse gave her a place to put some money, in case Zane 'forgot' his wallet. He didn't seem the type to pull that one, but Sierra had been fooled before, and wasn't one who needed a lesson given to her over and over again until she got the message. Also, she fit her cell phone, pepper spray, and a few other necessities into the small bag. Smoothly, she checked the time. One minute away from seven. Sierra looked around, trying to figure out if she had forgotten anything, but she didn't see any item she would need.

The doorbell rang. Taking a deep breath, Sierra went to the front door and drew it open.

Zane, standing outside, found it difficult to not show human expressions of anxiety. He felt the urge to check his reflection, his breath, his armpits, everything that could possibly offend his perfect lifemate. Listening carefully with his enhanced hearing, he traced Sierra's soft footsteps as they made their way to the door. He could hear her take a single, deep breath. He quickly did the same, and was surprised when he found that it calmed him.

The door swung open, and for a moment, Zane found himself unable to move in any manner, no matter how slight. Sierra was beautiful. The long-cut, emerald-hued dress flattered her full figure, and made her complexion glow. Her hair provided the perfect contrast to her skin, yet complimented it and the dress. A few inches were added to her height by the killer heels she wore. When his gaze finally drifted up toward her face, he was surprised to find that Sierra's delicate features were understated by her make-up. Zane commended her for this, as many other women overshadowed their natural beauty with heavy layers of dark shades.

Finally breaking the spell Sierra seemed to put him under, Zane noted with some satisfaction that she was staring equally as dazedly at him. He supposed he did clean up nicely, despite how Nicolae and Destiny liked to tease him. But did she like what she saw? He would not want to embarrass her at all tonight.

He was _gorgeous_. How would she ever be able to make it with him out in public? She wasn't one of those people who liked to be stared at, and she was going to get plenty of glares from other women tonight. However, Zane did make her feel wanted. He was clean shaved, thunderous and brooding in his dark suit, and was gazing at her with some strong emotion in his eyes. But was the emotion a positive or negative reaction?

Tentatively, she looked up at him and said, "So? What do you think? Is this dress okay?"

His eyes smoldered at her. "I think that dress is more than okay. I think that dress is temptation almost beyond bearing." Sierra blushed. She knew her figure was considered overripe, but it was nice of Zane to make the effort to flatter her.

Zane gestured down at himself. "Is my suit satisfactory?"

The suit, now that she took the time to look, was very nice. It had dark gray pinstripes running the length of both jacket and trousers, and a deep blue undershirt broke up the monotony without distracting the eye from his long clean lines.

"Your suit is great," Sierra said, and then flushed at her candidness.

Gently, as if sensing her discomfort, Zane offered his elbow. "My lady," he said, with old-world grace, "would you allow me to escort you to your awaiting banquet?"

"Of course," Sierra returned, taking his elbow. After Sierra quickly locked her apartment, the two left for dinner.


	4. Dark Flight Chapter Four

Dark Flight Chapter Four

Disclaimer: I do not own the Carpathian Series, nor do I own the rights to the car's name, or anything to do with the car.

The trip downstairs was silent. Zane was the first person Sierra had ever been with that she didn't have to 'try'. The two didn't have to make awkward conversation, they just were. When they were outside, Zane gently steered Sierra toward a shiny new car sitting just in front of the building.

Quickly, Sierra tried to think up some compliment for his car. Suddenly, Zane laughed. "Do not even try it, Sierra."

"Try what?" Sierra puzzled. She hadn't been trying to do anything.

"I mean, do not try to come up with something to say about my car. I will save you the time. It is a Maserati Quattroporte. I do not refer to it as a she, I do not polish it every night: I am not overly concerned about my car. Do not feel any need to act like someone you are not with me, Sierra. Simply be yourself, all right?"

Sierra nodded. Zane unlocked the car, drew the passenger side door open smoothly, and helped Sierra inside. He waited until she was settled, skirts and all, without sighing or acting in the least impatient like Damien would have. Once she was fully seated, he closed the door, but didn't walk around the car right away. Instead, he stood for a moment, gazing at her face through the window, as though he couldn't bear to turn away long enough to get in the car. Eventually, though, he broke his stare, loped easily to his side, and got in the sleek and shiny vehicle.

He settled himself against the seat, fastened his seat belt, checked to see if she had, and then took off.

Sierra did not live overly far from the restaurant they were going to. Zane liked that she lived in a nice area of town. The security arrangements in her building were more advanced than most of the others in Washington. He would have provided security updates had she lived in a less prestigious part of the city, but things were cleaner this way. Zane had no doubt that Sierra could back track any donations he made, and would find that suspicious.

They arrived at the restaurant, and Zane silently handed the valet the key to his car, along with a small tip, then gave the young man a dark look, in case he had planned on joyriding. Zane walked quickly back to Sierra's side of the car, opened her door and helped her to exit the vehicle in her heels. She took his breath away. He had not been able to look at her while he was driving, for fear he would lose his concentration and wreck. The colors and emotions that were so strong everywhere else were nearly unbearable when he was looking in her direction.

Sierra felt a little self-conscious as she sat down carefully at their extremely secluded table. There had been no wait at all before they had been seated, the host having welcomed them heartily as he caught sight of Zane. It was obvious he was a very important man. The women were all staring at him, and even some of the men. To her mortification, a tall, elegant woman had come up to Zane as they walked to their table. She had been pawing at him with her long nailed fingers and nearly begging him to look down at her generous cleavage. He had steadily ignored her until she had turned around and caught sight of Sierra.

"Aw, Zaney honey, you don't need that little bitch. A piece of trash like her will never be the match you need. If you play nice, I'll take you back, and you can throw her back to whatever whorehouse you found her in."

Zane had turned to her, eyes suddenly blazing, standing stock-still in the middle of the restaurant. Sierra supposed the woman was right: Sierra never would be a social match to Zane. However, it wasn't in Sierra to stand there and let this woman insult her. It also wasn't in her to let Zane stand up for her. She took a large step toward the woman, until the two were less than six inches apart, Sierra glaring up at the other woman. When she spoke, it was in an even, tempered tone, but that didn't matter, since everyone in that room was now listening in.

"Okay, listen here, lady. Obviously, you've never gotten over the fact that Zane dumped your slutty ass. Also, I know I won't ever be Zane's perfect match, and that you are. Nevertheless, when he decides to 'throw me back into whatever whorehouse he found me in', I'll see you there, since you're too much of a whore to ever be unleashed on polite society. Now, if you'll step aside and go back to whatever man bought your services tonight, my _date_ and I will continue to our table, okay?"

Their impromptu audience snickered as she gave a shocked little 'humph' noise, but she still didn't move. Sierra reached a hand up to the woman's face and waved her hand.

"Shoo. Enjoy your just desserts somewhere else." Sierra deliberately used her most contemptuous and condescending voice.

The people in the room chuckled louder and the rude woman's face slowly purpled. Letting out a shriek of rage, she raked a hand down Sierra's right cheek (where Damien had hit her) and grabbed Sierra's hair. She then paused, obviously looking for a reaction.

Sierra rolled her eyes and snorted. A split second later, her fist was buried in the taller woman's stomach, and she was released. Several people in the crowded room clapped. Without a backward glance, Sierra began to walk away. Resting on her hands and knees on the floor, the woman looked up at Sierra with pure hatred and malice in her eyes, and said, "I'm going to get you, you stupid bitch! You're always going to be watching your back, and that's good, because I'll be coming for you."

Sierra made an extremely Italian gesture, waving away the threat while making a 'psou' sound, which she knew pissed people off. She subtly turned to the side slightly, her weight on the balls of her feet, ready for the woman's second attack.

It never came. Zane stepped forward, eyes still blazing, and said in a hard tone, "Enough. Debbie, you and I were never together in any capacity, and I will not have you deliberately misleading my… date. If you ever threaten her again, I will-" He took a step forward and whispered in her ear so softly that nobody could hear what he said, not even the audience that was straining to do so.

When he was done, he straightened up, turned around, and, gently wrapping his arm around her shoulders, led her to their table. This caught her up to the present, and Zane was still quietly talking to the man who had seated them and handed them menus. Meanwhile, she was to simply sit here and wonder if he would dump her now, or wait until after their date. Surely a man of Zane's social status wouldn't want to be seen with someone who had verbally and physically assaulted one of his girlfriends out of jealousy? That wasn't what had happened, of course, but the gossip mill was a vicious thing, and Sierra knew it was slanted against those without 'social standing'. She couldn't take the waiting!

Zane finished up his conversation with the waiter and turned slowly to look at Sierra. She was still beautiful, in her long green dress, her hair slightly mussed, and vicious red lines scoring her bruised cheek. One of her shoes had a scuff mark marring the velvety blackness, and she was sucking on her piercing nervously.

Languorously, he went to the table, drew out his own chair, and took his place at the table. Still gauging Sierra's reaction, Zane stayed silent and let her decide which direction the conversation would go.

"So, are we going to finish up this date, or are you just going to dump me right here?" Sierra voice was bleak, but not asking for pity. She merely sounded as though these were the only two choices for their future. How wrong she was!

"Why on earth would you think I would let you go?" Zane could not help the real curiosity in his voice.

"Because I verbally and physically assaulted one of your past girlfriends." Sierra sounded as though she were quoting someone or something.

He had hardly remembered the woman, honestly. When one was reasonably handsome, and not to mention rich, there were a lot of females who wished to 'become better acquainted'. Eventually, when one could not see colors nor feel emotion, all of those types of women, and people really, blended together until he could scarcely remember what century they each belonged in. It was only through intense concentration and anger that he was able to remember Debbie's name.

"There is exactly nothing in that sentence that is correct," Zane said, matter of factly. "Firstly, I recall that Debbie 'verbally assaulted' you first, then you brilliantly retaliated, she 'physically assaulted' you, and you once again retaliated in a manner that was not only perfectly deserved, but was, in my opinion, less than she deserved. Secondly, Debbie and I have never dated. We happen to have attended the same social functions –separately-, and she chose to attach herself to me in a most uncomplimentary manner. I do not believe that I have spoken more than three sentences to the woman the entire time I have known her."

"She was right, you know. I'll never be equal to you in social standing." Sierra's voice was still hopeless. Zane longed to find the magical words that would bring back the vibrant person she had been earlier.

"Sierra, I really cannot understand where you get the strange idea that I care what society thinks, or whom society deems equal to me. I think society should be hanged, and I should be able to be with whomever I want to be with. And I want to be with you. The real question here is my third point." Here, Zane leaned forward and grasped Sierra's hands in his, ignoring her slight wince. "Thirdly, you are the only person I have ever wanted to be with. Would you like to be with me?"

Sierra rolled the piercing in her mouth as she thought. Being with Zane was, at the same time, the most appealing and frightening thing she could think of. She didn't know if she could handle it. Besides, as much as she didn't want to admit it, part of the reason that she didn't want to go ahead and agree to be with him was the Carpathian series!

Maybe her imagination was running away from her or maybe she knew the truth. It was so hard to tell! If, and this sounded crazy inside her own brain, _if_ Zane was actually a Carpathian, agreeing to be with him would be a commitment she wasn't quite ready to make yet. She took a deep breath, and opened her mouth to say something; her brain had neglected to tell her what.

"Are you ready to order?" The waiter had miraculously popped up again. Sierra exhaled in relief. Something inside of her wanted, no: _needed,_ to say yes to Zane, but her brain and heart weren't prepared to do that until she knew Zane a little better.

Sierra looked up to see that the waiter was looking at her expectantly. Thank goodness she had gotten a look at the menu earlier, when she had been waiting for Zane! "I'll have the grilled fettuccini Alfredo please."

"Very good, madam. And you, sir?" He asked, turning to Zane.

"I'll have the usual, Peter, thank you."

Peter the waiter gave a deep nod to Zane, and hurried away, clutching his order pad thingy like it was a life raft in the middle of the ocean. Sierra turned back to look at Zane. There was still a question in his eyes, but she pretended she had forgotten and began talking about some other subject, she didn't really know what. However, as she chattered on about nothing, Sierra noted the glint in Zane's eye that said she might have evaded him this time, but the next time he asked, there wouldn't be a waiter there to save her.


	5. Dark Flight Chapter Five

Dark Flight Chapter Five

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Carpathian Series, the Mortal Instruments Series, or Ace Ventura. I also don't own any song that might just happen to be in here...**

Sierra sat curled in her favorite armchair and sighed. She had just finished a conversation with Zane, and she was just going to read for a while before she got ready for bed. Normally, she wouldn't be going to bed so early, but since she had to work tomorrow, sleep was necessary. Sierra knew that Zane didn't like her to work, and had once even offered to pay her bills for her. That hadn't gone over well, and she told him never to say anything like that again. She hadn't told him about her nest egg, because she knew he would urge her to simply stop working.

However, Sierra loved her job. She was a cashier at a local superstore, and she got the chance to meet the most interesting people. She knew most of their names, and most of them knew hers as well, though she wasn't required to wear a nametag. She had never gone to college, though urged to by her parents, and after they died, her friends. Sierra, though, had known that she would be going on a great adventure some day, and didn't want school to get in the way of that. Here she was, six years later, and nothing big had happened to her outside of Zane. Then again, he was enough to keep her happy.

They had been dating for over a month and a half now. Sierra still found some things suspicious, such as how she never saw Zane any other time than during the day. Her brain made excuses for this, but there were other things. None of them were anything big, but still, the doubts were there. On one of their dates, she had fallen in her typical graceful way and scraped a knee open. Zane had helped her clean and bandage the cut, but his reaction to the blood had been strange. He had gone a little paler, his pupils had dilated, and he had pressed his mouth closed so tightly that she could see the outlines of his teeth inside of his mouth, teeth that had seemed slightly sharper than usual. The last, she put down to imagination and told herself that blood must make Zane sick.

However, one of the most damning pieces of evidence happened the first time Zane had been inside of Sierra's apartment. When he walked over toward the balcony, his nostrils had flared slightly, and he had touched a spot on the light switch and a spot on the doorknob. Both were spots that Sierra had touched two weeks earlier with blood on her hands, blood from the thorns on the roses Damien had given her.

Jolting herself out of her own thoughts, Sierra glanced up at the clock. She had to be at work before eight the next morning, when the store would open. She generally got up at six thirty. It was ten now. She could read for an hour or so, and then go to bed. Sierra was reading a different series now, one called the Mortal Instruments series. She was on the first book, and found herself unable to keep from laughing at some of the dialogue between the characters. Settling back a slight bit, Sierra pulled the book toward her, found the place she had marked with her bookmark, and began to read.

Zane had kept his cousins up to speed with his relationship with his lifemate, determined to show them that he would do better with his lifemate than they had done with theirs. That night, he had scheduled to have Vikirnoff and Natalya see Sierra, but without Sierra seeing them. It was going to be tricky, but not impossible.

A knock sounded on his front door, and he quickly answered. Sure enough, Natalya and Vikirnoff stood just outside, Vikirnoff in dark pants and a dark shirt, Natalya wearing her usual thousand-pocket pants and a white tee shirt. Vikirnoff greeted Zane in the old-fashioned warrior manner, hands clasping each others forearms, a slight bow, and a few sentences in Carpathian. Natalya rolled her eyes and shoved past the cousins into Zane's house. Zane clapped Vikirnoff on the back and followed his cousin's lifemate, leaving Vikirnoff to close the door and trail after him.

By the time the two made their way back to Zane's living room, Natalya had already made herself comfortable, sitting on the couch with her feet propped on a table, her arms crossed contentedly across her chest. She waved at him fondly and said, "Hey, Allie, I hear you got yourself a woman." She waggled her eyebrows.

"Natalya, it would be much easier if you would simply call me Zane, and yes, I did find my lifemate. Her name is Sierra. All of us will have to concentrate very hard to keep from being visible. Are your shifting abilities good enough yet?" Zane deliberately spoke to her as though she had not had an amazingly high level of ability before Vikirnoff had found her.

Sure enough, Natalya scowled. "Son, I have more ability in my little finger than you have in your entire freakishly huge body."

Acting as though he was not enjoying their banter now that he had emotions, Zane pretended to be offended. "Vikirnoff and I are nearly the same size. You do not find him 'freakishly huge'?"

Smiling impishly, Natalya said, "Well, sure, but I've had time to adjust to his size. I'm not quite ready to have two ginormous people in the same room, that's all."

Behind Zane, Vikirnoff grunted. "Do we not need to be going, Zane? After all, human women do go to bed early in the night."

"Keep your pants on, Vik; I'm pretty sure we aren't going to miss her." Zane chortled at her nickname the serious warrior, but Vikirnoff did have a point.

"Actually, Natalya, if the two of you know what to do, we probably should be going," Zane said, waiting for Natalya's possibly violent, most likely smart-ass reply.

Instead, she merely sighed and stood up. "Fine. May I ask, however, how exactly are we supposed to picture nothing?"

Zane shook his head. "You are not supposed to picture nothing, you are supposed to use the images of Sierra's apartment that I transmitted to Vikirnoff, and picture yourself standing there, unseen. It is exactly like dissolving into mist, except that you are forcing your molecules to get smaller than that. You will blend with the very air, and Sierra should not notice a thing."

Vikirnoff and Natalya nodded their understanding. After Zane opened a window, all three dissolved into mist and Zane led the way to Sierra's house. At Zane's prearranged signal, in the hallway outside of Sierra's apartment, they materialized for a split second, then forced their bodies into minuscule molecules, and entered the apartment on a slight air current.

Sierra was sitting in what Zane knew was her favorite chair. She was sitting sideways, her nearly bare legs dangling over the edge of her chair. Zane had not gotten the chance to see her today, and his eyes feasted on the sight of his lifemate. She was wearing jean shorts and an Ace Ventura tee shirt. Natalya, noticing this, said (using the connection between Zane and Vikirnoff), _Hey, this girl's got style. I like her already!_

Vikirnoff, sounding confused, said, _I do not understand. What is wrong with that young man's hair? Why does he not fix it?_ Natalya quickly answered, though Vikirnoff would not understand, _Nobody-Messes-With- the Do!_

Zane chuckled. Ace Ventura was one movie he had managed to see, and the modern Tarzan never ceased to amuse him with his hilarious adventures. He turned his attention back to Sierra. She was waving a foot back and forth in time to music playing in the background, whose lyrics claimed that it was better to feel pain than nothing at all. Sierra was reading a large book with a man's bare chest on the front, but Zane was not threatened, because a face was not shown.

As Natalya and Vikirnoff looked around, Sierra laughed, a pure, twinkling sound. She muttered something under her breath that sounded like 'Magnus', and continued to read. When Zane looked away from her, he found that his cousin was smirking at him.

_What? _Zane silently inquired. Vikirnoff, still smirking, replied, _It is simply nice to see you care so deeply about someone._ Zane rolled his eyes, and asked, _Are the two of you ready to leave yet?_

Natalya piped up. _What is her name?_ Zane, unintentionally sounded tender, responded, _Sierra._ Vikirnoff, ever practical, asked, _When are you going to make her fully yours?_

Zane had been dreading this question. _I am trying to gain her love, then I will inform her of what I am, and who she really is. Then, I will inform her of her duties as my lifemate._

Natalya winced. _That may seem like a good plan at first, but emotions have to be considered. If you obtain her love without telling her what you are, then she'll never trust you again, and may even rebel against our lifestyle altogether._

_Not to mention, _Vikirnoff added, _if you do not bind her before telling her, she may run. If I had given my lifemate the chance, she surely would have run._

_Damn straight! _Natalya returned. _Zane, just sit her down and give her the facts, straight up. Let her draw her own decisions, and if she runs, let her. She won't run for long, not now that she's met you. No woman can resist her lifemate's pull for long._

_I firmly disagree, _Vikirnoff said. _If his lifemate runs, he must follow, and bring her to our homeland, by force if need be. We need every couple we have, and, as a species, we do not have time for silly games and running simply to resist something that will happen no matter what._

Zane's head was beginning to spin. _I will consider what both of you have said, but perhaps I will sit her down after our date on Friday night and tell her everything she needs to know. Now, are the two of you ready to leave yet?_

_Yes, _Vikirnoff said. _Natalya will not admit it, but the stress of having her molecules dispersed so widely in the air is wearing her out rather quickly. _

Ignoring Natalya's protest, Zane agreed, took one last glance at Sierra, and ushered the other two out the front door.


	6. Dark Flight Chapter Six

Dark Flight Chapter Six

I still do not own the Carpathian series. Slight Blues Brothers reference, another thing I do not own.

Zane had had a few days of peace when Nicolae called up, miffed that he and his lifemate had not been invited to see Zane's lifemate. After apologizing profusely, Zane agreed to take Nicolae and Destiny the next night. He would have tried to put them off until after Sierra knew what he was, but Zane was not sure how Sierra would take it, so he had to take advantage of the time he did have. However, no matter how much Sierra resisted him, he would force at least one blood exchange on Friday night. Vikirnoff had been right: Zane had wasted far too much time pretending to be human for Sierra. It was time for her to either accept him as he was, or be forced to accept him over time.

Zane was forced to abandon his current train of thought as the sun was beginning to rise. If he was going to take Destiny and Nicolae to see Sierra tonight, he wanted to be rested.

Dragging her mind away from daydreams of Zane, Sierra focused on her current customer, Joel Tarantino. He was one of her longtime friends, along with Gary Jansen, who had recently moved to some mysterious place. She missed Gary, but Joel made a point of coming to see her regularly. He wasn't alone, though. The checkout aisle she called hers was usually filled with people who just wanted to say hi. Sierra had always been a fairly friendly, fiercely loyal person, and people liked to talk to her.

Unfortunately, the place that she worked at didn't exactly encourage socializing during a shift, but people didn't seem to mind her hurrying them along whenever a supervisor came her direction. Though it was late in the afternoon and she had been working for quite a while, Sierra talked enthusiastically with Joel as she ran his items through the scanner. Today, Joel's topic of choice was one she found especially confusing. This came as no surprise, since she had missed roughly half of the conversation so far.

"Yeah, like I was saying, this guy just popped up out of nowhere," Joel said in a tone indicating his shock at this. "I mean, the guy has no records, nothing to let you know who he is or where he came from."

Sierra nodded vaguely. She really had no idea who Joel was talking about now, but he would mention it sooner or later, when she could give her thoughts and opinions.

"Even his name is weird," Joel continued. "I mean, Alakzandir Von Shrieder. You can tell he isn't from around here, but nobody knows where he came from. The realtor who sold him house has no idea where he lived before he came here."

Trying to ignore the thrill that went through her when she heard Zane's name, Sierra stifled her alarm. As a reporter, Joel's natural curiosity came in handy, and was even amplified by the job, but could be a real pain in the ass.

"Joel, I think you may be overreacting. Zane is new in town, and is probably a naturally private person. I doubt he's here to start any trouble." She finished ringing up the contents of Joel's cart and gave him the total. As he paid her, Joel continued on the subject.

"There's where I think you're wrong, Sierra. I think 'Zane' is here to start trouble. I mean, look at that. Von Shrieder is a ladies' man. He's already started on you, I'll bet. Keep in mind, though, he's been seen flirting with some other girls around here, too. Don't get involved with him, Sierra. I don't want to see you get your heart broken."

Joel was now standing next to Sierra, a few feet away, just on the other side of the bag turnstile. Sierra nodded and smiled a greeting at the next customer as she inwardly winced. Joel had a mind like a steel trap. She should have known better than to refer to Zane by his nickname, which Joel hadn't told her. It stung to know that Zane was flirting with other women, but she had the feeling their relationship wouldn't last much longer, anyway.

After mindlessly checking out a few others and trying to think up something else to say to Joel's never-ending suspicions, Sierra finally gave up and gave all of her attention to Joel's stream of conversation. He went on for a while as Sierra quickly rang up sales for almost half of her aisle.

"Really, Sierra, it wouldn't surprise me one bit if he was a killer of some sort running from the law. You should carry your pepper spray in a pocket instead of your purse. You never know when you're going to have to-" Joel's voice suddenly cut off and Sierra glanced up to find him as white as a sheet and gaping silently into the distance. Her gaze sharpened and she followed his stare to find her most recent customer looming over her. Zane.

Zane had decided to visit Sierra at work for the first time and had been appalled to find a young man standing next to her, chattering. Even worse, he was chattering on about Zane. It soothed Zane's considerable pride that the boy had turned pale when he had caught sight of him, but the thing that really saved Joel's life was the fact that Sierra didn't seem worried, or even especially interested in what he was saying. Using his height to his advantage, Zane leaned over the cash register and soundly kissed her, not even sparing Joel a glance. Gasping slightly, Sierra pushed him away. Zane was not hurt. Sierra had responded nicely before her sense of duty had forced her to push him away.

"Zane- hey. What are you doing here?" Sierra asked, sounding a little desperate.

Zane smirked. "I was not busy, so I thought I would visit you at your…place of employment." Disdain dripped from every syllable that escaped his mouth. "I also wanted to be sure that our date was still planned for Friday night."

Sierra nodded, blushing furiously. "Yeah, we're still on. Zane, this is-"

Zane cut her off. "This is Joel Tarantino. Surely you would not think I would not know the name of the man who has been investigating me?"

Smiling slightly, Sierra said, "No, I would expect you to know. And don't call me Shirley."

Zane smiled broadly back at her. "I am not my cousin Vikirnoff, Sierra. I understand your little joke from _Airplane. _Which of my dirty little secrets has Joel been telling you?" Zane stared directly at Joel as he asked the last, and noted that he could not quite control the amount of warning he put into his gaze.

Fascinating. Was he jealous of this mere mortal? Yes, he believed he was. Astonishing_._

He spoke firmly, cutting off whatever excuse Joel had been forming. "Sierra, you must take the rest of the day off." Sierra opened her mouth with an amused look upon her face. "No excuses. I wish to take partake of your company tonight, without any distractions." A quick look in Joel's direction ensured that Joel knew he would be considered a distraction.

"Zane," Sierra cut in. "I'm not going to take the rest of my shift off, I've only got half an hour left. You can wait half of one hour to partake of my company."

Zane agreed, gave Joel a dirty look, and walked away. As he left, he heard Joel say, "Do you see now, Sierra? The man is a freak. He's overly controlling and you're letting him dominate you!"

Sierra gave her signature joyous laugh. "Joel, you're the one who's acting like a freak. Do you realize that you've just accused an innocent man of being a freak, overly controlling and dominating? That's out there even for you!"

Zane did not bother staying to hear the rest.

It was later that night. Nicolae and Destiny were in Zane's house, and he had explained the process to the two of them. Since Destiny was an older Carpathian, she was confident in her abilities to not tire easily, but Nicolae had agreed to alert Zane if she should suddenly be exhausted. When they were in Sierra's apartment, they found her in much the same position that she had been in the night before, when Vikirnoff and Natalya had seen her, curled up in the armchair with a book, music softly playing in the background.

After telling Zane how beautiful his lifemate was, Nicolae said, with a small grin, "You know, I have heard it said that you can tell how difficult a lifemate will be to win over by sustained physical contact. Frowning at her lifemate, Destiny asked, "What are you talking about?"

"I mean," he said, striding over to Sierra, "If Zane comes over here and rests a hand on her leg, and keeps it there, she may feel the presence, but how she reacts will be how she acts when Zane tells her the truth about himself. Would you like to try, Zane?"

Zane, glancing at his cousin's lifemate's enraged face, agreed. Standing over Sierra, Zane gently laid his hand on Sierra's knee. After a second, he could feel her muscles tense slightly, then a bit more when he would not release her. Still reading, Sierra began to wave her leg back and forth slightly, then more when Zane still would not lift his hand. Eventually, Sierra frowned, and stood up, retreating to a couch on the other side of the room.

Nicolae clapped his cousin on the back. "That is some hard luck, cousin of mine. I do believe that she will be a difficult one to catch."

Destiny, still standing where she had been five minutes ago, snorted. "Nicolae, women are not fish to be coaxed onto a line and caught. We are human beings as well as men are."

As Nicolae rushed to apologize to his lifemate, Zane could not tear his gaze from his lifemate. Did she despise him so much that she would abandon her favorite chair simply to escape his touch? Someone, Destiny, gently touched his shoulder. "Do not worry, Zane. Despite what the genius over there says, she will come around. No woman can resist her lifemate for long, and she already knows what a wonderful person you are."

Zane smiled at her kind attempt to console him, and agreed that she would indeed come around in time. Then he ushered his cousin and cousin's lifemate out of the apartment. He would simply have to wait until Friday night to see if Sierra would accept him.


	7. Dark Flight Chapter Seven

**Dark Flight Chapter Seven**

_Disclaimer:_ I do not own the Carpathian series, I just happen to like the characters and plot lines. This is a longer chapter, so get comfortable. By the way, Zane is in a big word mood. Watch out!

Sierra took a deep breath and ran her pointer finger over the cover of the book she was currently reading. It was Friday evening, and she was just getting ready for another date with Zane. They were going back to 'their restaurant', the one they had had their first date at, not the one where Zane had rescued her from Damien. For some reason, Sierra was nervous about tonight. Her nerves were fluttering, and she was trembling slightly. With an unladylike snort, Sierra firmed her jaw and stiffened her spine. She would not act like a frightened child. She was going to have to be completely truthful with herself. Sierra was terrified that Zane was going to break things off with her. The look on his face had been heart-breaking when he had seen her standing at her register, chatting with Joel. He had looked betrayed and melancholy, with the beginnings of anger kicking in as she had watched. Then he had come up and staked his claim on her. Sierra's face burned with both the memory and the thought of Joel's uncomfortable expression, as if he had realized that Sierra may be more loyal to Zane than him. Sierra didn't know the answer to that one, but since Zane was due any minute, she walked to her bathroom for the umpteenth time to check her reflection. Her dress tonight was a rich blue, made of a velvety material that still managed to be light and comfortable. Her shoes were high heeled, not too high, but enough to give her an inch or so of height. Her makeup was simple, as always, and a white metal lip ring adorned her un-lipsticked mouth. For her hair, she had tied back the front sections on either side of her face into a low ponytail in the back of her head, leaving her body edged with free-hanging curls, but her face bare.

A knock at the door signified Zane's arrival. Sierra took a final look at herself, left the bathroom, and grabbed her trusty clutch purse, which she had put several tissues into, in case Zane did break up with her. When she opened the door, she was breathless, as always. Zane always put so little effort into getting ready, but he always looked good. Sierra hadn't been a girl who dated a lot in high school, and was often called a lesbian- both behind her back and to her face. Sierra hadn't given the other kids any reaction, so she was soon forgotten in their world of gossip. However, she was almost irresistibly drawn to Zane. It was frightening, how quickly their relationship was moving. For a split second, Sierra thought that maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing if Zane broke up with her, but she quickly dispelled the thought.

* * *

Zane could hardly breathe as he watched his lifemate look him over. He had been worried that Sierra was going to be upset with him for kissing her at her workplace, in front of her friend, but she did not seem too unhappy. She was beautiful, as always, but he sensed her sadness and confusion, as well as her trepidation. Why was she so worried? Forcing a smile, Zane greeted Sierra, and gallantly offered her his arm. She smiled back, and they went down to his car. The drive to the restaurant was awkward at first, but the music Zane was playing in the background and Sierra's naturally accommodating personality ensured that conversation resumed promptly. They arrived too quickly, in Zane's mind, but he soon realized the cause of that: There were not likely going to be many comfortable conversations with Sierra for a while after he broke the news that she was going to be forcibly tied to his relatively dark soul for the rest of eternity. Zane winced. He should have been thinking of more positive ways of presenting that knowledge.

Darting out of the car, he managed to get Sierra's door before she had opened it herself. She gave him an exasperated look, which he returned with a smug smile. She was such an independent little thing! As Zane pulled her door open, he opened a long velvet case right in front of her, enjoying the shocked expression on her face. A necklace lie inside, the glint of silver bright against the dark interior. Sierra gasped as she reached to gently remove the necklace, standing at the same time. Zane took the jewelry from her and motioned for her to turn around, and when she did, he carefully clasped the chain at the nape of her neck. Sierra turned back to face him, and she smiled beatifically. Zane felt a warmth inside that squashed part of his rising anxiety and guilt. The silvery chain dripped gracefully from her slender neck, short enough to almost be called a choker. From the very middle of the length of chain was a single sapphire gem, its depths sparking with its workmanship. It was a beautiful piece, but the fact that Sierra was the one wearing it was enough to amplify its beauty tenfold.

Sierra placed one hand over the gem, which lay right over the center of her collarbone. "Thank you, Zane. It's the most lovely thing I've ever owned." Zane could see the profound appreciation in her eyes, but mixed in there somewhere was a hint of relief. Zane would gladly sign away his entire fortune to know her thoughts.

* * *

If Zane was giving her a necklace this night, he probably wasn't going to be breaking up with her tonight. It was a small comfort, but Sierra would take what she could get. After walking into the restaurant, Zane had a short word with the host and they were seated at the same table they had sat at the first time. The time that they spent choosing their meals and ordering passed quickly, and Sierra watched as Zane became more and more anxious. Finally, her nerve broke, and she had to say something.

"Zane, I can't stand it any more. What is making you so worried? Please tell me."

She watched as he blanched slightly and swallowed hard. "Sierra... I do not have the slightest idea of how to tell you this..."

Something inside of Sierra died. "I knew it." Zane's face fell slightly. "If you want to break up with me, just tell me." He glanced at her sharply, and she wrapped her arms around herself. "I'm not going to become a crazy stalker or anything. If breaking up would make you happy, then I want you to do it."

Zane grasped her wrist, and unwound her arm from the other. He rested their now-clasped hands on top of the table and shook his head adamantly. "Sierra, I would never break up with you...ever. At the risk of sounding obsessive, I want you to know that we are meant for each other, two halves of the same whole."

_Uh, oh_, Sierra thought_. Isn't the 'two halves of the same whole' thing a major part of most Carpathian speeches_? "Zane," Sierra said carefully, out loud, "what are you trying to tell me? That we're soul-mates?"

"Lifemates," Zane corrected automatically. In a flash, Sierra realized that, up until now, she had seen her relationship with Zane as an experiment, something to stick with to see how it all panned out. Now, she had to face the fact that this was her life, her situation. This was real. It hit her like one harsh slap, and it dizzied her for a moment. Sierra kept her expression perfectly blank for a moment until she collected herself, and then smiled cautiously.

"Aw, that's so sweet!" She knew the meaningless remark would make Zane admit if he was serious or not, and she was leaning toward serious. After all, his last name was Von Shrieder, he was related to a men named Nicolae and Vikirnoff, who were 'married' to women named Destiny and Natalya. Plus, Sierra had never seen Zane in the daylight.

Zane shook his head. "I do not think you understand. Have you ever heard of a race of people named the Carpathians?"

In a flash of sheer instinct, Sierra's brain made the independent decision to lie to Zane. "Do you mean people from the Carpathian Mountains? There can't be enough of them to be called a 'race' exactly. Why do you ask?"

Zane took a deep breath. "My family is from those very mountains. My entire people is from those mountains. We...we are not exactly like those humans from other places of the world." He gave a moment's pause for Sierra to digest that. "We have discovered that, isolated in the mountains, we developed longer lifespans than are normal, and we began to have gifts-certain talents unique to each individual. Now, Carpathians and their descendants live incredibly long lifespans and we have amazing talents."

For the first time, Sierra stopped to consider what it would mean if Zane was really a Carpathian. It would mean that she was his lifemate, forced to give up all freedom in order to give light to his darkness. She started to feel stifled. she also decided that Zane was having too easy of a time telling her all of this. "So, you're what... a vampire?"

"No!" Zane seemed shocked at his outburst, then continued in a rush, as if he couldn't stop the words. "Our people have almost two hundred years of life until they lose their ability to see in color, or feel any emotions at all. There is one person for each of us, a woman, who will lift the darkness..." And Zane continued to explain the lifemate process to Sierra, and the Carpathian's ability to turn into vampires when the darkness became too great. Sierra had actually known all of it, but a cruel part of her enjoyed watching Zane's awkwardness.

Finally, he finished with his story, and Sierra asked, "Zane, that's all very interesting, but what does it have to do with me?"

Zane rose from his seat suddenly, strode around the table, pulled Sierra up in front of him and kissed her passionately. "Do you not feel my emotions, Sierra? My emotions toward _you_? I have loved you from the moment I heard you speak in the restaurant that night. I know you do not feel as strong emotions from me, but they will come in time. I must claim you as my lifemate, and eventually convert you to my species."

Sierra felt even more stifled, and, turning away, realized their food had been delivered during the conversation. For some reason, she wasn't feeling very hungry. Normally, she wasn't one to admit when she was wrong, but Sierra realized that she was in way over her head with Zane. It had been funny in the beginning, a private little conspiracy theory her imagination had cooked up, but it honestly wasn't funny anymore. Zane really believed what he was saying, and like it or not, Sierra was a lot smaller than Zane. If he was buying in to this Carpathian thing, he may even try to keep her with him. This could quickly turn into an extremely dangerous situation. She needed to distance herself.

Sierra sat back in her seat, noting that Zane was quickly seated as well. "Sierra, tell me what you are thinking." Zane's voice was soft, gentle. She shook her head. "Please, Sierra, I know it is a lot to take in. I beg of you, talk to me," Zane coaxed.

Haltingly, Sierra asked, "What does this mean for us, Zane? I don't think I'm ready for all of this."

Apparently, Zane got from that statement that she believed him, and his tension level dropped. "Sierra, you are in danger from my enemies now. If they know that I have not bound you to me yet, they may try to harm you, and I cannot allow that. I know that you are uncomfortable, but you must understand, I have no choice but to bind you to me... for your own safety. Please tell me that you understand."

"I don't know, Zane. I understand the thought behind it, but this whole binding thing is weird. Does it hurt?" Sierra was playing innocent so well that it was making her teeth hurt.

"No, Sierra, no. I would never willingly hurt you." He looked uncomfortable, and Sierra knew he was thinking about the conversion. "It would simply mean that we stay close to each other, and ensures that I cannot become something that would be bad for society as a whole. It does not hurt, and is simply a few sentences. I could bind you right here, and no one would know. However, I know this is hard for you, and I will give you time to accept me and this change in your life." He looked down and Sierra returned to her food, but she quickly looked up when Zane continued to speak. "Nevertheless, though I may be patient, you must know that I will not wait forever. Also, if you choose to attempt to flee, I will be there, following you across the world if I must. The Carpathian people do not easily surrender what is rightfully theirs."

The threat thrilled down Sierra's spine and strengthened her resolve, though she hid her thoughts. "Zane! I could never leave you. I'm going to do my best to accept what you just told me, but I'm worried I won't be able to as quickly as you need me to. You aren't going to surrender to darkness any time soon... are you?" She did her best to sound uncertain and frightened.

Zane responded. "Oh, sweetheart, I have much time until I begin to think about the darkness. Take all of the time you need."

Sierra nodded and returned thoughtfully to her food. Now that she knew she had time, Sierra was determined to escape this situation. Eternity with Zane didn't sound like much of a punishment, or at least it hadn't until he told her that she wouldn't have a choice. She would sit through the rest of this dinner, try to act normally when Zane dropped her off, and then she would do some research...


	8. Dark Flight Chapter Eight

Dark Flight Chapter Eight

Disclaimer: I do not own the Carpathian Series.

As soon as she'd gotten home, Sierra had been thinking on just where to start evading Zane. She called in to her work and told the machine that she was coming down with strep throat and would be out of work for at least the next week, probably longer. Now that work was taken care of, Sierra could turn her mind to where she should go next. Going to the middle of nowhere seemed to be a good option, and on the .000001 percent chance that she was dealing with a real Carpathian, decided that somewhere with bad soil would be somewhere to start, simply to throw Zane off. Any Carpathian worth his salt would be wary traveling anywhere without rich soil, in case he was injured and had to go to ground, poor soil would mean a longer recuperation time. The longer Sierra thought, the more the state of Missouri seemed to make sense. The southern area was notorious for its rocky soil which was mostly made up of stuff called red clay. With ten minutes of research on her trusty computer, Sierra had found a town with an airstrip to fly to, but decided against buying a ticket online. She wanted to give Zane as faint of a paper trail as humanly possible. _Humanly possible._ A Freudian slip, perhaps? Sierra did her best to shake it off as she went to begin packing.

* * *

Zane arrived home, changed into lounging clothes, and sat to ponder Sierra's reactions that night. She had seemed to accept the things he was telling her, and besides, she was strong. However hard something may be to accept, she would do her best to come to terms with it and move on. There was not a doubt in Zane's mind that, even now, Sierra was calmly sitting in her apartment thinking over what he had said tonight. She was most likely digesting each fact carefully and accepting it, and would call him when she was ready. He didn't expect a call any time within the next few days, but was confident that she would soon be in touch. Zane started as his phone vibrated, but he quickly reached for it. Surely it was not Sierra: even she could not accept things so quickly. He smiled, thinking of the resilience of his lifemate. Opening his phone, Zane found that it was Nicolae, texting to find out how tonight had gone. Also, he found another text from Vikirnoff, wondering the same thing. Still riding high on the thrill of being truthful with ones lifemate, Zane smiled fondly, realizing how much he cared for his cousins, and how much they cared for him.

He texted them both back, telling them with no small amount of pride about how quietly and acceptingly Sierra had taken the revelations. Both were happy for him, but each asked the same thing: _Did you bind her to you?_

Zane replied with a 'no', and explained that he would wait until Sierra was ready, as a sign of his faith in his lifemate. Of course, if she was not ready within a reasonable time, he would simply bind her anyway. He got replies at nearly the same time. Nicolae was accepting, and agreed that the sign of faith was a good idea, especially since Zane was so far from the abyss of the darkness. Vikirnoff was not nearly so pleased. He said that it was foolish to not bind his lifemate, and that giving her the chance to flee was the biggest mistake a Carpathian could make with his lifemate. Zane agreed to disagree with his cousin on the matter of lifemates, closed his phone, and laid back to relax with thoughts of the life he and his lifemate would soon have. Naturally, it did not take Zane very long at all to fall into a deep sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Sierra got up and got dressed, still wearing the necklace Zane had given her the night before. When she had gotten undressed, she realized that she couldn't figure out the clasp, which was unlike any she had seen before. She shrugged it off; she had too much else to do before it was time to leave. After she made sure everything was packed and grabbed her last muffin for breakfast, she scheduled a cab to arrive in one hour, and told the company to pick her up two and a half blocks away. She didn't want Zane to have any way to trace her, and if her car was still at her apartment building, it would take Zane a while to figure out that she had gone somewhere, let alone where. This way, even if Zane was to check with the cab company, it would have been a few days, and the driver wouldn't remember her. She knew she was being a little paranoid, but told herself that if she wanted to avoid Zane, she would have to be paranoid for a while. However, Sierra didn't leave anything to chance. Forty-five minutes later, Sierra stepped out her building with suitcases in tow, and began walking her two and a half blocks. Passers-by stared, but Sierra did her best to ignore it. People were going to be staring for a while, and she couldn't really blame them. Her disguise was rather over-the-top, but she didn't look anything like herself, which was the general idea behind a disguise.

Her white-blonde wig completely disguised her dark hair, covering it up with a long emo-looking hairstyle, complete with heavy bangs that halfway covered her eyes, razored ends, and black and red streaks. She had powdered her face, giving her an almost chalky complexion that looked even paler compared to the black eyeliner that dripped down her cheeks in a careful spiderweb pattern. She had put a clear lip stud in her piercing, since they weren't exactly common anymore, and had even gone so far as to use a pair of one-day disposable brown contacts, completely masking their normal green. Her shirt had red and black stripes horizontally crossing her body, and a half-zipped black hoodie went over it. She was wearing bright red skinny jeans, and completed the look with a pair of black and red striped flats with zippers on them.

Sierra knew that she looked nothing like herself, and was going to use that to her advantage. When the cab reached her, and the driver inquired about where she wanted to go, Sierra put on a false British accent and asked to be taken to the airport. When dropped off, she paid with cash and wished the driver a nice day. Going inside, she purchased a ticket, using a false southern U.S. accent, and cash. After going through the whole pre-flight gymnastics, Sierra settled back against her seat. It wasn't very comfortable, but there weren't many jumbo jets headed to Lebanon, Missouri. Oh, well. The soil was weak, the town was small, and she had at least a day until Zane realized that she wasn't at her apartment anymore. Life was good.

* * *

Zane woke up rested, yet still pleasantly drowsy. He looked at the ceiling happily as he thought of the events of the night before. Drawing himself up, Zane reached for his phone, but there were no new messages. _That is strange, she almost always texts me the night after we go out, _Zane thought to himself. _Perhaps she simply does not know what to say._ He smiled tenderly to himself, and texted her, wishing her a good morning and telling her how proud he was of how she had taken the news last night. He sent the text, then laid back down and drifted back to sleep for a while.

* * *

When Sierra's plane landed on the airstrip, she quickly retrieved her bags and called a nearby taxi service and requested a cab to pick her up within the next half an hour. With that taken care of, she grabbed her things and went into a nearby bathroom. Twenty five minutes later, she sat down on the sidewalk outside, surrounded by her luggage and took in the surrounding landscape. Everything was very green, the grass, the trees, some of the buildings, which were few and far between. The area was very open, and yet had lots of trees sprinkled around. A couple passed by, staring, and Sierra subtly took out a small hand mirror to check her hair and make-up. Her new disguise was very different, but it would blend in rather well, she thought.

Her blonde emo wig had been replaced by a generic light brown one. This one reached to the middle of her back, had sideswept bangs, and was very straight, except for the ends of the hair, which curled in slightly. Her spiderwebs had disappeared, to be replaced by conservative make-up, light charcoal eye-liner, a small amount of blush, and light, natural lipstick. She kept in the colored contacts. For clothes, she was wearing a black jacket with blue pinstripes over a matching light blue silk top. The pants matched the jacket, and her shoes were black high heels with small black and blue pinstriped buttons on them. Since she still couldn't figure out how to get the necklace off, she was wearing it. Sierra thought she looked like a typical businesswoman, and would tell people that. She figured she would make up a name to check into the hotel under.


	9. Dark Flight Chapter Nine

Dark Flight Chapter Nine

Disclaimer: I do not own the Carpathian Series.

I would like to thank everyone who reads this fanfiction, and I would especially like to thank Tampra Weaver, Crying Wolf Kaia, babyzeven1218, Princessoffun, and jpurple62598. I love all of your enthusiasm! Thanks for reviewing!

Sierra had checked into the hotel as Ann Smith. It was the first name she could think of that wouldn't give anything away to anyone. After she had placed her things in the drawers and closet supplied by the hotel chain, Sierra walked over to the window. The blinds were up already, and she stood for a while, simply enjoying the view, which was excellent since she had been given a room on an upper floor. A Chinese restaurant was right in front of the hotel, and just on the other side of the overpass was a combination gas station/antique store/candy shop. Sierra chuckled softly at the things people think of. The few buildings and the interstate highway made up nearly the entire town, and it slightly disturbed Sierra to see the plains and forest that lie beyond the immediate area. She wasn't used to being so close to nature. Sinking into the comfortable chair next to the window, Sierra's thoughts turned to Zane, and she wondered whether he had noticed that she was missing yet. Turning on her phone for the first time since she had gotten off of the plane, she saw that she had a slightly new text from Zane. Opening it, she read:

_My darling Sierra, I am so proud of how you accepted my news last night. I want you to know that I love you deeply and I hope that you do have feelings for me as well. I hope to see you soon, but I will not rush you. Simply tell me when you are ready to see me, and I will be there. With love, Zane._

Sierra smiled as thoughts of how sweet this message was echoed through her brain, until some cruel part of her reminded her harshly of his surprise announcement. She blanched as she began to realize how far gone she really was where Zane was concerned. Attempting to be practical, she told herself that she could simply take pride in the fact that she had evaded a crazy man bent on spending eternity with her and accept him. _The only other option_, she told herself, _is to harden your heart against Zane and stay firm in your escape._ When Sierra finally convinced herself that fleeing from Zane was the best thing to do, she relaxed slightly in her chair. A thought rose up in her mind before she could stop it, a thought of how nice it would be to curl up next to Zane and simply let herself be held and cuddled and generally taken care of... before he swooped down to bite her neck.

Sierra bent to put her head between her legs as the absurdity of the past twenty-four hours rushed to greet her.

* * *

Zane could not stand the wait for Sierra to answer his message. Despite his family's deep reservations, Zane firmly believed that he had done the right thing in not binding Sierra to him. He was young, far from the brink of darkness, and he had his lifemate, who was a modern woman. By explaining things thoroughly to Sierra, he had avoided the period of struggle most Carpathian had to go through, getting their lifemates to agree to a life with them. He drifted off into thoughts of how his revolutionary way of dealing with his lifemate would change the way the men of his species would deal with their lifemates throughout all of history.

Suddenly, Zane stiffened. He had the strangest feeling that something was off in his life…something was wrong. Shaking it off, Zane returned to watching his cellular phone for new messages. Being a normal, fully active Carpathian male, this soon began to be dull, and he tried to distract himself, retreating to his training room and working on his battle skills, but found himself often slow and distracted by thoughts of Sierra: her smile, her wit, the way she glanced down self-consciously when he complimented her, the way she had looked when he had given her the necklace... This last thought disturbed him greatly. He did not like to deceive his lifemate, but the way she was acting today had confirmed his suspicions. Still, he wondered if Sierra had noticed yet.

* * *

Sierra had been doing her best to ignore the text messages for the past few hours, choosing instead to read her book. Throughout her life, reading had been her escape. The characters of books and the situations they got into always managed to whisk her off into another place, where things were more pleasant. Returning to real life had always been a letdown. However, Sierra had been having trouble concentrating on her book over the last few hours. At a guess, she would say the reason was that her life was now so exciting that she actually _wanted _to see and experience what happened next. She forced herself to keep reading, thinking about how she had often wished as a child that the characters in her books were real people. A thought wormed its poisonous way into her distracted brain that it seemed some of those characters actually _were _real. With that, Sierra allowed her book to ease closed and tried to watch television for a while. She couldn't help but note that Zane had texted several more times, and they had been sent several hours apart, as though he had been trying to talk himself out of texting her. He probably considered that to be 'rushing' her. What he didn't understand was that Sierra was never going to be ready to be Zane's lifemate. However, if Zane couldn't stop himself from texting her this soon after their conversation, she had better text back to keep him from getting more suspicious, and eventually impatient. Zane seemed like the type to do things when he got impatient and the whole point of fleeing was so that Zane couldn't find her. She decided to text him some random questions about his past. Sierra tried desperately to tell herself they were merely to distract Zane, but despite her better instincts, she really was curious about him and his life.

* * *

Though he had been waiting for it to happen, Zane still jolted when his phone buzzed. Whipping it up into his grasp, he saw that the text was from Sierra.

_Where is it that you said you were from?_

A simple question, but Zane could sense the challenge in the unassuming words. He would give her his answer, but he was growing impatient. She refused to even see him. This did not seem like something that his brave Sierra would have a problem with. However, he would answer her questions and bide his time for a little longer. However, there was only so long he could allow his lifemate to roam free. Zane had waited for her and it was within his rights to claim her. Perhaps Sierra would have an easier time accepting the unchangeable rather than trying to deal with the illusion of a choice. If nothing changed soon, he would take it into his own hands to find her and bind her to him. For now, he would simply satisfy himself with answering Sierra's questions and picturing how eternity together would be.

* * *

When Sierra heard the tone of her cell phone, she was ready. Taking a deep breath, she read:

_I originally came from Firenze, or Florence, Italy. I would love dearly to tell you anything about my childhood that you wish to know, but I find texting to be an incredibly impersonal way of communicating. Would you like to meet me and we can go somewhere to talk about everything that we wish to know about each other?_

The first thought that popped into Sierra's head was that he wanted to meet her so that he could bind her to him. Her second thought was how that could be true... if such things as Carpathians existed. She had to stifle a slightly hysterical giggle as she pictured herself texting back '_yeah, sure, how would you like to meet me in Missouri for a little Chinese food that you claim you can't eat since you only drink blood?'_ She slapped herself mentally and sent back the age-old female excuse.

* * *

Zane's phone vibrated. He pressed the series of buttons that would reveal the newest text from Sierra.

_No, thank you. It sounds fascinating, talking about how much history you would have experienced, but I'm afraid that I'm not feeling so well. Maybe we could talk some other time._

Ah, so she thought to evade him. That would not work. As much as he wanted to give his lifemate the time to accept him, he would not allow her to stay alone and talk herself into possibly doing something silly, such as trying to run from him and her destiny. Besides... she may really be sick, and no Carpathian worth his blood would allow his lifemate to be in discomfort.

* * *

Less than two minutes later, Sierra had a fresh out of the oven response from Zane. Idly, she wondered what exactly he thought about her 'sick' excuse. She hoped he had bought it, but she really doubted he was that stupid. There was only one way to truly find out.

_My darling, I am so sorry to hear that you do not feel well. Will you allow me to come to your house and nurse you back to health? It is truly the least I could do for my most beautiful lifemate. I could be there in less than fifteen minutes._

Sierra did her best to not panic. It would be a disaster if Zane came to her home. He would find out almost immediately that she had run, and would be after her in no time at all. She had to stave off Zane for as long as possible. But he was an extremely suspicious person. How could she keep him from knowing and still keep him away from her house? She typed out a text, and winced.

* * *

Zane opened the new text, read it, and frowned. It had said,

_Zane, I just need a little more time, okay? I can't deal with this right now. I mean, how do I even know you're telling the truth?_

Now the truth came out. Sierra did not truly believe him. He would have to go over to her home right now and prove to her, somehow, before she did something they both regretted. If he told her he was on his way, she might run. He sent a different text.

* * *

Sierra could not believe what she had sent to Zane. That was almost the only thing she could have said to him that would have made absolutely certain that he went over to her home. She had started a chain of events that couldn't be stopped. Darting up, she began to pack her things up as quickly as she could. All motion ceased as she heard her cell phone indicate a new message. She turned slowly, like a character in a horror movie, but read the message anyway.

_I thought that we had discussed this already? If I had known you had any doubts, I would have assured them that night. And, as I have already told you, I have no problem with you needing more time._

She knew that she shouldn't believe him, but Zane sounded so reasonable that Sierra found herself calmed down, not needing to pack quite as urgently as she had been before. She didn't text back, though. She would wait a few moments, or maybe until tomorrow morning.

* * *

Zane pulled his car over and parked it in front of Sierra's car on the street in front of her apartment building. Striding past it, Zane laid one of his hands on her car's hood. It was completely cold. He was willing to bet that she had not been out of the house that day. He walked at a brisk pace until he stood in front of her apartment door. Inhaling slowly, he thought it was odd that he could not smell Sierra's delectable scent, but her bedroom was in the rear of the apartment. Could she have been lying in bed all day? That did not sound like something Sierra would do. As much as he hated to invade his lifemate's privacy, Zane slipped his form into that of a cloud of air molecules and swept himself under the front door. Sierra's scent grew no stronger. After circling the apartment several times, Zane found that Sierra was not there, and what was more, a suitcase-sized space was in the closet, and several empty hangers swayed from the bar. Zane's lifemate had fled. After all of his understanding, his caring, his gentleness, his _pazienza_, his patience, Sierra still sought to get away from him? No longer would he play the perfect, nice partner. He was Carpathian. He was in charge.

* * *

There was another text from Zane on Sierra's phone.

_How dare you! You attempt to run from me? The other half of your soul? Your protector, your savior? I demand to know where you are this instant! You will either come home of your own free will and spend the rest of eternity with me, or I will come and retrieve you. The second option is by no means more pleasant. _

Sierra squeaked. Zane had found her out. It was not even one day after she had left her home and already Zane knew everything. Wait a moment... he didn't know everything. He didn't know where she was, and he didn't know how to find her. There was still hope, if she moved quickly enough. She resumed packing. Her body cried out for sleep, now that the adrenaline rush had left her, but she knew that she could sleep on the plane. Plane. She didn't know when the tiny airstrip would have another flight, and to where. She popped open her laptop and did some quick research, taking everything into account that needed to be taken. By the time Zane's next text message arrived, she knew where she was going and how she was getting there.

_I hope you like that necklace, Sierra, since it is impossible to remove. The cords cannot be cut, nor can the clasp be undone by anyone but me. Know this: I will find you. You are mine, and I will keep you forever. You may evade me for a while, but I will find you. Until we meet again, goodbye and good luck._

Sierra sucked in her breath. Since the necklace was impossible to remove, she wouldn't waste the time trying to take it off. The very fact that he had basically put a brand on her put the final nail in the coffin of whatever relationship they had ever had hope of having. She finished packing and went downstairs to check out of the hotel and pay for the use of the room.

The game was on.


	10. Dark Flight Chapter Ten

Dark Flight Chapter Ten

Disclaimer: I do not own the Carpathian series.

After many connecting flights from Branson, Missouri, and nearly fifteen hours later, Sierra was huddled in her hotel room in Yakutsk, Russia. The room itself was warm, but Sierra was freezing. The cold that she had just walked through may have contributed a little: It was a whopping -40 degrees, a high temperature in this city. Sierra suspected that she was so cold was actually fear. She had gotten mixed up with a guy that she knew had to have ulterior motives, and had eventually had to flee the only city that she had ever been able to call home. She had left all of her friends and everything she knew. Added to that, Zane had left a voice-mail on her phone that she had been able to listen to while waiting to board yet another flight in the United States. From what she could remember of it, the message had sounded something like:

_My dearest Sierra, I know that you have sworn to run from me and I have sworn to find you. You may think that this is a case of the unstoppable force meeting the unmovable object, but you will find that you are very stoppable indeed. I will apologize for only this one thing: I am sorry that I did not think to bind you to me when we had that conversation, no, I should have bound you to me the moment I discovered you with that idiot man. I will find you, and then we will journey back to my homeland where my people and I can keep watch over you and keep you from doing anything this foolish again. I am not angry, merely disappointed. Until I find you... Goodbye, and do try not to get too badly injured._

Sierra had shut her phone quickly and glanced nervously around, half-expecting for Zane to be just around the corner, having found her. She boarded her plane with only feelings of anxiety, anxiety to leave the airport before Zane truly did show up. As soon as they left the runway behind, Sierra began to breathe normally.

All of these things combined to scare Sierra, but the thing that was truly making her chilly was the feeling she had experienced as she was entering the city for the first time. She had known, deep in the bottom of her soul, that she would never return to her cozy little apartment in Washington. She didn't think that she would stay in this city, but she knew somewhere that had no words that her days of living alone in her apartment were over.

This revelation shook her so badly that Sierra sat for a long time, simply staring off into space, her mind trying desperately to make sense of Zane's revelation. Sierra found that she didn't like being totally alone with her thoughts. So far, she had always been planning something or another, but now that she was at her destination, she didn't know what to do. Her mind had been so focused on how she could get away that she wasn't thinking about what to do after she salvaged her life from Zane.

After arguing with herself for several hours, Sierra agreed that she would have to eat something eventually, so she walked outside to a little restaurant on a nearby corner, about the length of a block away. She could only have been outside for a total of three minutes, but her face was frozen, and her ears were slowly coming back to stinging life by the time she reached the restaurant. The glossy wood interior was shining in the buttery light cast by the glass spheres covering the light bulbs. Just inside of the entrance, a huge fire roared, sending shivering light dancing over the faces of the friendly people eating with their families. Sierra was quickly warmed by the content atmosphere.

As she sat down, Sierra was desperately trying to remember why she had chosen to come to the coldest city ever, then recalled the logic behind her plan. Carpathians felt most comfortable traveling to places with rich soil, on the off chance that they may be injured while staying there. Sierra had intentionally chosen the place on the earth with the most permafrost, ice covering the surface of the land. If Zane found out where she was, he might wait until she went somewhere else since it would be impossible for Zane to use _this _soil to heal himself. With a wave of satisfaction, Sierra leaned back in her wooden chair and ordered a bowl of soup and a drink, relaxing into her surroundings.

_Sierra, _a voice breathed through her mind. _Sierra._

Sierra stiffened. She knew what was going on. Zane was trying to contact her mind-to-mind... without a bond, which would take an enormous amount of strength. If she answered him, Zane would find it easier to locate her, and would then try to track her, which she couldn't allow. She would merely have to do her best to ignore Zane. _Sierra_, Zane's silky voice echoed tenderly inside of her head once more. She sighed. This may be harder than she had originally thought.

* * *

After trying for half an hour to convince Sierra to talk to him, Zane withdrew his mind from hers. The effort had been largely wasted, but Zane took comfort in the fact that her nervous energy was nearly touchable. Though she was largely disbelieving, Sierra still had faith in the fact that he would come to find and retrieve her. The fact that she knew this should not have been good: she would be on the lookout for him now, but still... Zane had found his lifemate! Anything else was now possible, and he could not depress himself. However, Zane _had_ gained something from the one-sided conversation with Sierra: He had gotten two random images from Sierra's mind, a rare thing, even among Carpathians. His lifemate must be an even stronger psychic than he had suspected. A gorgeous restaurant was one, accompanied by a deep feeling of contentment, which Zane despised.

Why could she not be content with him? He was her other half. The other image was the one that had truly enraged him. The face of a man, seemingly dressed in a uniform. He had been handing Sierra a bowl and smiling at her. It was a smile that a man gives a woman he is attracted to. Sierra had a pleasant feeling along with this image, but it was slightly frustrated, as if she was upset that she could not bring herself to feel attracted to this man in return. Zane gloated slightly to himself, but soon gathered his thoughts, turning them into action.

An hour later, Zane stood inside of Sierra's apartment with Vikirnoff and Natalya. He had instructed them to search for anything that may give them a clue as to where Sierra had gone. Vikirnoff was steadfastly checking the living room while Zane was looking through the bathroom and Sierra's office area. Natalya was looking through Sierra's bedroom. After a while, Zane called them back into the living room to go over anything that they might have found. Vikirnoff had found a hanger designed for a heavy coat hanging empty in the closet. Zane had found that the last entry into a popular search engine had been 'cheap airline tickets', and the entry before that was 'coldest city on earth'. It was Natalya, however, that had the most compelling and upsetting evidence.

In one of her typical grand gestures, she tossed a paperback book onto the coffee table, where it landed with a dull _thump_. Zane and Vikirnoff stared, not understanding. Natalya sighed, and pointed to the cover, which read in large, ornate letters: _Dark Demon_.

"Obviously, Zane," she started in a voice usually used when lecturing small children and misbehaved animals, "your girl there likes to read."

He nodded, still not understanding. "Yes, Sierra always has a book she is reading. She finds joy in it, and the practice is not dangerous, so I have no problem in allowing it."

Natalya, after rolling her eyes at Zane's high-handed attitude, went on. "Yeah, great job. The reading in itself is pretty good, you know, works your brain, prevents Alzheimer's Disease, so on. However, the subjects Sierra chooses to read about could be a problem. This is a book about Carpathians. To be specific, this is a book about what happened between Vikirnoff and I, and I must say, I'm pretty awesome even in book land. Anyway, the humans think that all of these stories about us are fiction, just simple stories. However, Sierra seems to be pretty open minded. Did you tell her about your cousins and their lifemates?"

Zane blanched. "I did, in a way. I said that Nikolae's wife used to have a very painful disease and that Vikirnoff's called his wife his little tigeress. Do you think she could possibly have guessed?"

Natalya nodded grimly. "I'll bet she did. She probably put the pieces together almost immediately. Did you notice her acting strange or different at all?"

Wordlessly, Zane shook his head.

"Hm, it seems that Sierra is a good actress to boot. In any case, she knows about us, Zane. She knows about our entire species, our way of life, our enemies. Normally, I would be applauding her efforts in avoiding you, you know, making you work for it, but this changes things. This changes everything."

Somberly, Zane nodded. "This changes everything."


	11. Dark Flight Chapter Eleven

Dark Flight Chapter Eleven

Disclaimer: I do not own the Carpathian series. Sorry that this one is shorter than usual, but I wanted to get it out tonight.

_**Happy Halloween!**_

Zane was standing in front of a ticket booth in the closest airport. The same woman had been working there for the past week, so chances were good that she had seen or maybe even sold a ticket to Sierra. However, the woman did not seem to remember her. Zane did not own a picture of his lifemate, but there were not many women who looked like she did. Natalya, who had volunteered to come and help Zane, shook her head exasperatedly. "You know," she said conversationally to Zane, pulling him aside. "Sierra's pretty smart. She might have changed her appearance before leaving." Zane sighed and nodded. The ticket's woman's shift had apparently ended; she was creeping away from the stand, trying not to attract their attention. They waited until she had turned a corner on her way to the parking lot before they caught up to her.

Zane caught a flash of annoyance from her expression just before he gently placed both of his hands on either side of her head and smoothly entered her mind. Quickly, he flipped through her memories of the past few days. _No, no, no..._ Memories of people flipped past. The woman had an incredibly good memory, able to recall slight details about many people easily._ No, no, no..._ Zane had a new appreciation for just how _many _people bought airplane tickets in a week. He flipped past memories, but then stopped to make her recall a certain face. It was a girl, dressed in the style known as 'emo'. She had bought a ticket to some airport in the middle of nowhere, and had paid cash. She had also been constantly looking over her shoulder, as if she expected that she had been followed. Now that Zane looked closer, he could see that the emo hair sat rather high on her head, as if all of her real hair had been piled up underneath. Under the extreme makeup was the shape of Sierra's face, but the eyes had been brown. If Zane was correct, colored contacts existed now.

Zane was now certain that the emo girl was Sierra, he merely had to discover where she had been going and how long ago she had bought her airplane ticket. While he disapproved of the rebelliousness of his lifemate, he was enjoying the process of tracking her down. Sierra was a mastermind when it came to escaping him. Looking deeper into the woman's mental files, Zane discovered that Sierra had been here a mere day ago, buying a ticket to Lebanon, Missouri. Releasing the woman's mind - along with her head - Zane stepped back toward Natalya, smiling the smile of a predator. Sierra's biggest mistake, other than running from him in the first place, was running to a small town. In going to a small, rural area, Sierra had ensured that everyone would see and remember her in her wild disguise. Tracking her was now going to be all too easy. Perhaps he would let her get a little farther ahead. _No,_ admonished a small voice in his head. _Your pride in your abilities is what got you into trouble the first time. Just find her, trap her, and take her back to the Carpathian mountains, where she will realize that escape is futile. _Good God, was that really how he spoke? Maybe there was more than one reason that Sierra did not want a life with him.

Natalya broke him out of his reflection, speaking loudly and snapping her fingers in front of his face. "So? Did you find out anything important before you spaced out?"

After nodded briskly, Zane said, "She took a small plane to Lebanon, Missouri. I am going to be heading there as soon as possible. It is a small town about an hour and a half from Branson. I was there around 1915. I do not think it has grown at all since then. Do you still want to come along?"

Laughing, Natalya said loudly, "Hell, yeah I do!" She then held her hand up for a high five. When Zane did not respond, she promptly smacked him on the forehead, then her face softened. "Really, Zane, I do care about you and I want you to be happy. Sierra is your best chance for that." This was the nicest thing that she had ever said to Zane, so naturally, he was suspicious. At his odd look, Natalya laughed again. "Besides, if I couldn't outrun my Carpathian man, she shouldn't be able to, either!"

This sounded more like the Natalya that Zane knew and had grown to not mind so much. He cracked a smile, and she slapped him companionably on the back. "Also, if we don't find her, I can't give you shit about letting her get away in the first place. I assume that you've got some plan to find her and get her back?"

Zane nodded. "Do not worry," he said grimly. "I will not allow her to escape me again." He began striding rapidly toward one of the ticket booths, his shoulders suddenly tight with anger.

Natalya stood alone for a moment, then shook her head and followed after him.

* * *

After hours of self-lecturing, Sierra did her best to get over herself and go out to see whatever sights and things that Yakutsk had to offer. Sierra was surprised by the number of museums there were around, and she happily spent her afternoon looking through several. Everything was explained in Russian, but most of the things were easy to understand. She especially enjoyed the section with a complete woolly mammoth skeleton. Sierra stood there for a while, merely looking at the skeleton and trying to imagine what it would have been like to leave the cave she lived in to see one of these creatures stomping past. However, when she started to wonder whether Zane or any of his people had been alive long enough to have actually seen one of these, she quickly shook her head and continued to browse. Sierra decided to skip the museums of literature and music, because they would more than likely deal in written materials: in Russian. In the rest of the day, Sierra also was lucky enough to see one of Yakutsk's fortress towers, a handful of memorials, and the 18th century treasury building.

Sierra had gone to a nearby lake that she had seen others walking along. She meandered around, deep in thought, nodding greetings to those who greeted her. She was absorbing the atmosphere and the landscape, and thinking it amazing how her life had changed in so short of a time. She was in another country! She hadn't even been to Canada, but now she was in a place that hardly anyone she knew had been to. Sierra took a deep breath, and was content, but when she saw several couples walking past and holding hands, her heart began to ache. This was a place that lovers came to, a romantic place where people could be in their own worlds among others who were in their own worlds. She didn't belong, and had gone back to the hotel, feeling more depressed than ever.

When dinner time rolled around, she returned to the place that she had eaten at the night before. This time, Sierra had just gotten her food when Zane's voice began to stroke through her head. _Sierra... Sierra..._She ignored him, smiling once again at her waiter from the night before, who had introduced himself as Viktor. Viktor had switched tables with another waiter so that he could talk to her. Sierra thought this was sweet, and talked animatedly to him. He had asked her whether she had seen the nearby sights, and she was telling him all about her day, smiling and keeping eye contact the entire time. Sierra tensed as she heard Zane's voice say irritably, _Stop looking at him! I am your lifemate, and I will not have you staring foolishly at other men!_ Did this mean that Zane could see images through her? Hopefully, he couldn't read her mind as well. This could be a problem. If Zane could see everything she saw, he could track her so easily! However, her fears were mostly allayed with his next smug sentence: _Yes, I can see what you are seeing sometimes._ Ah, so he couldn't see everything she saw. What a relief. Then, as if Zane could feel that relief, he told her in a voice that said he thought he was saying something that would just kill her inside: _I am on my way to retrieve you right now, my wayward lifemate. As I speak, I am on a plane to Lebanon, Missouri. When we land, I will find you all too easily. I must say, Sierra, I am surprised that you are allowing yourself to be caught so quickly. I had thought better of your evading skills. _

At the end of his statement, he had been taunting her. Sierra stifled a rush of happiness and satisfaction that he was looking in the wrong place. She wouldn't want to give the surprise away. And just for the record, she told herself, my evading skills are so obviously better than his. With that petty statement, she finished her meal and returned to the hotel, careful to not look directly at the name of the hotel or any surrounding establishments. Once she arrived at her room, Sierra rested her hand against her leg and stuck out her middle finger. Very carefully, she did her best to transmit the image to Zane. Moments later, she heard his laugh inside of her head, and then he was gone.

Sierra did her very best to convince herself that she wasn't sad that he had left. She didn't appreciate being spied on. Raising her hand to her hair, Sierra felt the necklace that Zane had given to her. She snorted. More like put on her. She knew some things about the Carpathian species, and she knew that the necklace was a mark of his ownership. She suddenly found herself shaking with anger, but forced herself to calm down. As she braided her hair and brushed her teeth, Sierra planned for tommorrow. She needed to get out of Yakutsk, but only for the day. She would go to Friendship, and see the open-air architectural museum that she had heard so much about. Tomorrow would be a better day. However, somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that if Zane had tracked her to Lebanon, it would only be a matter of time until he found her here. Sighing, she mentally planned to leave in a few days. Sierra loved Yakutsk, but she would have to leave to avoid both Zane and her fate.

* * *

At about the same time, Zane was landing in Lebanon, Missouri, more determined than ever to find his lifemate.


	12. Dark Flight Chapter Twelve

**Dark Flight Chapter Twelve**

_Disclaimer:_I do not own the Carpathian Series. Nothing in this fanfiction is supposed to be an insult to the author, whom I hold in the highest respect. Remember, everything in this chapter takes place in one day. In the next chapter, we will see Sierra's side of this day. My timeline is somewhat confusing, and I apologize.

Zane and Natalya had begun to track Sierra as soon as their plane had touched down, calling the only cab company in the area. They pretended to be private detectives, trying to track down a runaway girl, dressed in an emo style. The cab company denied knowing anything about her, so Zane had hung up. He seethed silently for a moment, but quickly recovered when he noticed the man at the far counter staring, obviously listening in on their discussion. The ensuing conversation, however, would illuminate many things.

"Hey," called the guy working at the counter, whose nametag read 'Jordan'. "I don't mean to eavesdrop, but I think I may be able to help you."

Zane and Natalya strode over to him, Zane studying Jordan intensely. The man had large brown eyes, and his blonde hair was cut short, emphasizing the man's delicate bone structure. Jordan cleared his throat, and said, "Are you really looking for an emo girl, one that came here a day or so ago?"

Zane and Natalya exchanged glances, and eventually, Zane nodded. "She is a family member of a friend of ours who hired us to find her. She ran away from home about a week ago, and we fear she may be in some kind of trouble that she did not want to inform our friend of. Anything you know could make a difference in when we find her, and, as you know, time is of the essence. Any information that you could share with us would be a great deal of help."

Jordan nodded obligingly. "Yeah, I saw an emo girl getting off of a small plane, and I kept an eye on her. We don't have too many emo people living in the area, so they kinda stand out." Zane smirked, pleased that his theory had panned out. "But right after she got her stuff, she went into the bathroom. She was in there for a while, nearly twenty minutes, but when someone came out, it wasn't her." Natalya sent him a questioning look, and Jordan blushed slightly. "I mean, it might have been her. People can't just disappear into thin air, you know?" This time, Natalya sent Zane an amused glance, clearly remembering their air molecule experience at Sierra's apartment, but Jordan was continuing with his story. "The woman who came out was a brunette, long hair. She had brown eyes, and she didn't look like she was wearing much makeup. She was dressed like a businesswoman. As soon as she got out of the bathroom, she called a cab and left. I'm sorry, that's all that I can remember. Does that help at all?"

Zane grimaced. Jordan had given a good description, but before he went off chasing this woman, he wanted to be sure that it was really Sierra. "Jordan," Zane intoned carefully. "I am going to ask you to do something that does not make much sense. I need you to allow me to place my hands on your head, then I need you to close your eyes and think carefully of this woman, everything about her that you can recall. Is that all right with you?"

Jordan rolled his eyes exaggeratedly. "Man, if you would have just told me in the beginning that you were Carpathian, we could have avoided so much of this!" Zane simply stared with a look of shock on his face. Jordan laughed. "Yeah, I know about you guys. Wait... No, it couldn't be. It _couldn't _be! You aren't that Carpathian whose woman ran away, are you?" Zane suddenly could not find the ability to speak. Jordan laughed louder. "You _are_! Oh, dude, you are the biggest piece of gossip to hit the Underground world in nearly sixty years!"

Zane managed to stutter, "U-Underground world?"

Jordan lost whatever professionalism he had retained and reverted back to the speech patterns that he had developed back in his hometown on the west coast. "Shaa, the Underground world. We're a society of people who have connections to Carpathians in some way or another. I'm hurt that you haven't heard of us before now. After all, we're the ones who got those stories-" He broke off, a wary look on his face.

"Got which stories what?" Zane asked dangerously. He knew what the man was going to say, but by forcing him to say it himself, Zane would hopefully force Jordan to understand the impact of what he had done.

Jordan gulped. "We relate the stories to the author, and she adds in details and fills in the blanks where we don't know what happened, and then she gets them published. Our society has practically tripled since the books were first published."

Zane shook his head violently, attempting to prevent himself from becoming distracted at the human society's stupidity. "I will have to have a discussion with you about those books later, but for now, my lifemate is out there, and I need to find her. I assume you have heard the story and know that she is running from me. I have not even had the opportunity to bind her to me, and I must retrieve her at any cost. I ask once more and for the final time: do you have any clue where she might be?"

Looking relieved at their conversation being postponed until later, Jordan nodded. "I know the cab driver that picked her up. I'll call him. We don't get many people here who ride in taxis, so he's almost certain to remember... your lifemate."

"Her name is Sierra. She most likely gave out a false name, so do not allow yourself to become distracted by names. I need you to contact your friend the taxi driver as quickly as possible." Zane rapidly changed the subject, but found himself growing jealous. Not only had Jordan seen and liked the looks of Sierra, he was also able to aid them in finding her when Zane himself, her lifemate, had not been able to.

Jordan picked a phone up off of the desk and dialed quickly. "Hey, dude. Yeah, it's Jordan. I need a favor. Can you come over the airport?" He listened for a few long moments. "Oh, you're not on duty? Well, I guess it could wait..." Zane tensed, readying himself to yell at the young man, but Jordan went on loudly. "No, I do _not_ care whether you're on duty or not, get your ass over here now!" He listened again, then blushed slightly. "No, it's not a girl. This is more important that that! Well, maybe not more important," he amended. "But it's more urgent right now." A few more seconds of silence passed. "N-... No, I... No! Just come over here. If I have to pay for your gas, I'll do it." He slammed the phone down, muttering, "Cheap bastard" under his breath.

Zane, for the first time in a while, chuckled softly. Natalya, who had been standing quietly next to him the whole time, was smiling as well, but her face quickly became serious as she pulled Zane aside. "So," she started, "what are you going to do with him? He knows your appearance and name, he knows all about your lifemate, and he knows about the Carpathian world. I like the guy, but we can't just let him stay here, full of all of this information."

Frowning, Zane asked, "What would you have me do with him? I doubt very much that he is a threat to our way of life, and the books may help us in the long run. Now, the idea of Carpathians will seem even more ridiculous and unlikely to humans. I cannot execute the boy simply for being in a conspiracy society. Could you? I think not."

Natalya rolled her eyes. "Damn, why does everything have to be life and death for you guys? I wasn't talking about you killing Jordan, and I certainly wasn't suggesting that he could be a threat to us in any way. What I meant was that, before now, this Underground society probably was all speculation, the odd unlikely fact, and a few sightings, with very little evidence or real knowledge... except what they put in the books." She frowned for a second, then collected herself. "What I mean is, Jordan is probably the only contact with a real Carpathian that they've ever had. Now that Jordan knows actual useful information, that puts him in danger from the vampires. If they managed to get information from him, you would be in danger, but Sierra would be as good as dead. She would be known to be out in the world on her own, with no protection."

Zane nodded thoughtfully. "That is a good argument. We should talk to the man before making any serious decisions, however. Jordan," he said conversationally as he approached the front desk, where Jordan was still seated. "Is your friend a member of the Underground society as well?"

Jordan shook his head. "In Lebanon and the surrounding areas, there are only ten or fifteen members. Joey isn't one of them." His gaze sharpened, and Zane could read the curiosity in his eyes. "Why do you ask?"

Zane and Natalya glanced at each other, arguing silently over which of them talked to Jordan. Natalya relented first, and asked, "Jordan, are you the only one in the Underground who has met a Carpathian before?"

Again, Jordan shook his head. "We have an older member who used to be friends with this church dude who supposedly knew a Carpathian guy named Mikhail, but it was a long time ago. I suppose I'm the only one who's seen a Carpathian recently. I hate to be repetitive, but why do you ask?"

Natalya spoke more gently than Zane had known she was capable of. "Jordan, by knowing us, you are in danger, too. The vampires may make you their next target, since you have useful information and you're unprotected. I know that you wouldn't give up the information easily, but that actually makes things just as bad, since they would be willing to torture or even kill you over this. You aren't going to be able to tell anyone in your society about meeting us, and we need you to stay somewhere that we'll know your safe in, at least until Sierra is found. We are going to try to give you some options, but there are a few things that we will not negotiate on, such as you being in a safe place. Understand?"

Eyes wide, Jordan nodded. Natalya went on. "Here are your options. You can either stay with one of the Carpathian warriors in the area - and there are a few-" she said, cutting off Jordan's question. "However, even if you stay around here, you wouldn't be able to go out in public, to work, to see people, you wouldn't even be able to talk to your friends. Another option is for you to go to our homeland. There, you would probably be able to stay in one of the prince's private cabins, but you'll still be surrounded by Carpathian warriors, and the rules about not being in sight of the public still would apply. Your third and final option is to travel with us. You would be an asset, especially with connections made through your society. However, you would be in constant danger. You get to make the choice, but you must choose one of these. You cannot return to your normal life until after we find Sierra."

"Wow," said Jordan, eyes still wide. "You guys are really serious about this whole protection thing, aren't you?"

Natalya nodded. "We're deadly serious. We can't be putting people in danger and allowing them to be harmed on our behalf. Now, what is your choice?"

Face serious, Jordan said, "I choose to stay with you guys. I want to help you find Sierra, especially if she's in danger. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if anything happened to her and I could have prevented it."

Zane thought to himself that Jordan was being overly chivalrous, and was getting ready to warn the man away from his lifemate when Natalya asked, "Are you sure? Like I said, it will be dangerous, and we'll have to work hard and move quickly to find Sierra before anyone or anything else does."

Jordan broke into a large smile. "Yeah, I'm sure. I've never done anything important before. Besides, it's better to be helping to find someone than sitting around being babysat." Thoughts shifting, Zane now agreed with Jordan, and felt that he could better understand the young man. Well, he did not understand the bizarre smile that had spread across his face at the mention of danger.

They all looked up at the sound of the door opening. Jordan's friend Joey walked in, and quickly, they traced Sierra's path to a nearby hotel. When they walked inside, a girl with a name tag reading _Sydney_ was sitting behind the front desk, reading a book with the title _Dark__ Challenge_ emblazoned on the front. When she saw them, however, Sydney quickly put the book down and smiled. "Hello," she greeted them politely, pushing back her red hair. "How may I help you today?" She looked at them expectantly until her gaze fell on Jordan, who smiled at her and waved. She relaxed, then said, "Hey, Jordan. What's up?"

Obviously trying to look cool, Jordan lounged against the front desk, managing to get closer to Sydney's face than she looked comfortable with. In deference to her, Zane grabbed one of Jordan's elbows and dragged him back a few inches. He then looked at Sydney and said, "Have you seen a woman that looks like..." he proceeded to describe Sierra. When he was finished, Sydney nodded.

"Yeah, I remember her. She was here a day or two ago, though I can't exactly remember when. I do know that she checked in in the morning and checked out that same evening. She looked very stressed and kind of scared when she was leaving. When I asked, she said she was fine."

Zane stifled a rush of excitement. He was on the right track. It was only a matter of time until he and his lifemate were reunited. He looked at Joey. "You would not happen to know who drove Sierra away from here, would you?"

Joey looked unsure. "I know almost everyone that was on duty, but I couldn't tell you for sure. I'll ask around, though." Zane hid a smile. He could smell the fear pouring off of Joey, who was obviously intimidated by Zane. Within ten minutes, Joey came back up to Zane. "I found the guy. He said that he drove Sierra to the airport in Branson, Missouri. I don't know if that helps you, but she paid in cash, didn't talk to the driver, and that was the last he heard from her. Now, I've got to be going. Do you guys need anything else?"

Zane shook his head and thanked the nervous Joey for all of his help, but as he was leaving, Zane did think of something that could cut down on investigation time a great deal. "Do you know if the airport in Branson has flights to Russia?"

Joey shrugged, but said, "Probably. It's a pretty popular place, so people come from everywhere. It would be pretty likely." Then he left.

Zane called Natalya and Jordan over, and let them in on what was going on. Most likely, Sierra had fled to the town she had researched, Yakutsk. They would travel there next. Before leaving, Zane had to ask them one last time. "Are you two sure that you want to come along? It will be cold, and we are not completely sure that we will find Sierra there. You do not have to come along if you do not choose to do so."

In response, Jordan simply gave him a dirty look, Natalya slapped him lightly on the ribs, and then the two walked outside and got into Jordan's car. Zane sighed, but before he could follow them, Sydney's voice stopped him. "Good luck. I hope you find Sierra, she seemed like a really nice person." Zane turned and met her curious gaze.

"Thank you, Sydney. She is a very lovely person, and you have been extraordinarily helpful. If you would, do me one favor. Please, do not mention us to anyone. If someone comes in here, asking about us, even if they say they are friends of ours, do not tell them that we were ever here. You have never seen us before. All right?"

The curiousity stayed in Sydney's eyes, but she nodded. "I promise," she said solemnly. Though he believed her, Zane had to reach into her mind. He met with a steely resolve that did not seem to match up with the laid-back girl's personality. "Thank you," he said again, and left.


	13. Dark Flight Chapter Thirteen

**Dark Flight Chapter Thirteen**

_Disclaimer: _I do not own the Carpathian Series.

Sierra had spent a long, leisurely day enjoying the sights of nearby towns, and had enjoyed herself, but she was relieved to return to her hotel room for some rest. Sierra flicked on the lights, rested her purse on the bed, and took off her shoes. She sat in a chair and surveyed the room. She hadn't quite been able to bring herself to spread her things around, just in case she had to leave on a moment's notice, but she was getting more and more confident that Zane either wasn't going to find her or had lost interest. Ignoring the twinge of disappointment that the thought had caused her, Sierra curled up in thoughts of home. she wondered how all of her regular customers were doing without her there, and rather hoped that they had noticed her absence. Her house was probably doing okay: she lived in a nice neighborhood, and the people that lived in the building were always looking out for each other. All of a sudden, Sierra felt lonely and homesick. Yakutsk was lovely, and she was making friends rapidly, such as her waiter friend and a woman who she had eaten dinner with a few times. Since it was so late, her usual restaurant was closed. Sierra wasn't hungry, but the thought of seeing her newfound friends had seemed nice and comforting, not to mention that they would serve as a nice distraction.

Sighing, Sierra recognized that she was growing restless. Despite how much she was beginning to feel at home in Yakutsk, she needed to move on. In a few more days, she promised herself, she would leave. Sierra merely needed to walk around, seeing things for a final time. It was difficult to believe that she had been here such a short time. She had been doing research on the hotel's computers before she left this morning, trying to find another place to flee to. Places that she could get lost in, to be unknown and remain undiscovered. She was beginning to feel a little like Hester Prynne in _The Scarlet Letter_, trying desperately to escape her past. Of course, Hester had been fleeing with the man she loved, and Sierra's man _was_ the past she was trying to escape. It was all very twisted. Why was everything so complicated all of a sudden? Even when her parents had died, things were simpler. Actually, that was probably due to the thick cushion that shock had provided, but no such barrier existed for Sierra today. She was utterly alone, exposed to the world. Tears welled in her eyes, and Sierra wiped at them angrily.

She needed to get a hold on things. _Hell, another second and I would have been throwing myself out of the window._ Sierra took a deep breath and did her best to distract herself with what she always ended up doing: Planning. She had to find another place with bad soil. She had already eliminated permafrost. What else would be a Carpathian's nightmare? She snapped her fingers. _Sand_. A Carpathian couldn't pack wounds with sand, could he? She certainly hoped not. Now, she simply needed to pick a desert. She wanted very much to see more of the world, but she figured her best bet with blending in with a crowd would be to return to the United States. The Mojave Desert would be perfect, and since she was looking for somewhere extremely populated, Las Vegas would be the perfect destination. Besides, she had always wanted to visit the city.

She had done research on the different hotels, and decided to stay in one of the main hotels on the Strip, where she would blend in with the other tourists. After long debate, Sierra had decided to stay at the Stratosphere hotel and casino. Besides all of the other options, the Stratosphere had an amusement park on the top that she simply couldn't wait to try out. She had already called and reserved a room, the overly friendly person telling her about how there were several rooms open for the next week or so. Sierra hadn't minded knowing the extra information: you never knew when information would come in handy. Smiling, she remembered something that a friend of hers had been fond of saying in high school: Knowledge is power, and power corrupts, so study hard and be evil.

With her priorities in order and wound down from her trip, Sierra went around the room getting everything ready for when she went to bed. After turning off the overhead light and turning on the bedside lamp, Sierra walked over to the window. Before she could close the curtains, her gaze was directed outside for some reason, perhaps it was simply instinct. For whatever reason, as she was looking down at the people wandering the streets, Sierra's stare was drawn to a particular pale smear. Since her hotel room was so far up, the people were nearly impossible to identify, and yet Sierra had no problem telling who this smear was:

Zane.

He and two others, a man and a woman, seemed to be systematically searching every business on the main stretch. Depending on the size of the building, they would be inside for a minute, or up to ten. They were on the other side of the street and working their way down, so Sierra figured she had maybe twenty minutes to get everything ready and run. She sprinted for the closet, throwing clothes into her suitcase as quickly as she could, then gathered her things from the bathroom. She slipped on her shoes.

Ten minutes left.

She made a call to the woman at the front desk, Betty, one whom she had become friends with over the past few days. Betty had been utterly dependable, not even blinking an eye when Sierra asked her not to tell anyone she was here. Sierra knew that Betty thought Sierra was running from an abusive husband, and Sierra allowed her to think that. Apologetically, she told Betty that she had an emergency at home, and had to check out as quickly as possible. Managing to sound both concerned and comforting, Betty promised to take care of everything, allowing Sierra to leave whenever she wanted. Sierra had kept up with her payment by the day, just in case, and now she was glad that she had. Thank goodness she hadn't changed out of her traveling clothes.

Five minutes left.

Sierra gathered her purse and suitcase, and after looking over the room to ensure she hadn't left anything, shut off the lights and snuck out of the room as quickly as possible.

* * *

Zane burst through the front door of the hotel, Natalya and Jordan following closely behind him. They had carefully searched every establishment along the main stretch in the town,saving the hotel for last. Natalya had stood guard, watching for anyone to leave the hotel, while Zane and Jordan had gone inside. Zane had been sure to pay special attention to the restaurant where he had seen Sierra all of those times, despite the fact that it was closed.

Now they were finally at the hotel. No one had exited, and Zane was certain Sierra was in there. He was almost shaking with excitement at the thought that he would be reunited with his lifemate within the next hour. Striding quickly over to the desk, Zane studied the woman working. Her grandmotherly appearance almost put him at ease, but he was far too wound up.

"Hello, dear. How may I help you tonight?" She was smiling at him politely. Zane, trying to cover his shock at the woman's perfect English, read her name tag, _Betty_.

"Yes, Mrs. Betty. Have you seen a woman that..." He quickly and efficiently described Sierra's businesswoman disguise and waited hopefully.

She smiled. "Please, sir, just call me Betty. And, I'm sorry, I haven't seen anyone who looks like that around here. Is there any other way I can help you?" Zane quickly scanned Betty's brain and found that not only was she telling the truth, but there was an air of honesty and sincerity rippling throughout her mind that made him fully appreciate the individuality of human beings.

He smiled back. "Then you must call me Zane." He paused as a triumphant glint winged its way through her eyes, but then thought he must have imagined it. "And yes, you can help me on something else. Have you seen a woman..." He then described Sierra's emo disguise.

Betty once again shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I haven't seen her either." A quick look at her mind revealed that she was telling the truth. She went on. "Are you sure that you're in the right hotel?" Zane suddenly felt unsure and sheepish. He had staked everything on Sierra being in this town, in this hotel, and he did not really know any of that for certain. Perhaps he would be better off turning around and leaving, going home and working things out until he came up with a better plan of action - Zane pushed the thoughts away. He did not know where they were coming from, but they did not belong to him. The voice had been stealthy, blending with his own line of thinking and using his own mental voice to trick Zane. Reaching out with his mind, Zane attempted to find the person who was placing these thoughts. He delved quickly inside of Betty's thoughts, but all he found was her willingness to help and her patience for his next request. Trying to shake the suspicions out of his mind, Zane went on, playing his final hand.

"Then have you seen a woman..." He then described Sierra's actual appearance and waited.

Betty smiled at him kindly. "No, dear, I haven't seen any of these women." Zane scanned, but she was telling the truth, and he looked back at Natalya and Jordan, shaking his head slightly. "Maybe you ought to forget about your harem and settle down with just one woman. A single girl is far easier to keep track of." Zane's head whipped back toward Betty's face, searching her mind for any hint of malice, but all he found was amusement and good-natured humor. He relaxed further. Maybe he should leave and go to a local pub. Perhaps he should try to find a local single girl, one whom he could relate to and spend some time with...

Zane mentally slapped himself, and stumbled back slightly. No Carpathian male worth his salt would even _think_ of betraying his lifemate, especially once he had found and interacted with her. This occurence proved to him once and for all that the thoughts he was thinking were not his own. He had to find out where they were coming from, but for now, he needed some fresh air.

Natalya and Jordan followed Zane outside, both attempting to ask him what he'd found out, but Zane merely walked around a corner slightly and held up an imperious hand. He waited, watching the doors carefully until he saw what he was looking for. A young couple was almost at the doors when Zane approached them quickly, saying, "Excuse me, sir, miss, would you mind if I asked you a question?"

The woman shook her head and smiled at him. "Ask away."

Zane nodded, and described Sierra's actual appearance, asking if they had seen her. By now, Zane had figured out that Sierra would not have worn her disguise out here, so far away from hom. She had thought that she was safe from him. The woman thought it over for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, I remember seeing her around. She was always very polite, and yet she always seemed to be by herself. Don't you remember her, honey?"

The woman elbowed her date playfully in the ribs, and he grunted good-naturedly. "Yup, I remember her. She was the one that waiter was always flirting with."

Ignoring the dark coil of jealousy deep in his gut, Zane thanked the couple and walked back toward Natalya and Jordan, making sure that they were completely out of view of the doors, and also the front desk. "So?" Natalya asked excitedly. "Did they know who you were talking about?" Zane nodded. "Did you ask them where they had seen her?" Zane shook his head. "Oh... WHY NOT?" Zane winced.

"It is important for me to find my lifemate," he said distractedly, "but I am concerned about something else that seems to be going on here." Natalya and Jordan stared at him curiously. "That woman there, Betty, she works behind the desk. I asked her if she had seen Sierra around her, and she said no. I scanned her mind, and she was telling the truth. When I talked to that couple over there, I asked the same question, and they both said that they had seen Sierra around her before and that was the truth. What is more is that the woman was a very clear broadcaster. I received a picture: Sierra having a conversation with Betty. They both could not possibly be telling the truth. Also, when I was talking to Betty, I found myself thinking thoughts that did not belong to me, but I could not trace them. I think that we need to keep an eye on Betty. She is more than she seems."

Jordan edged along the wall until he came to the corner, then he peeked around, whipped his head back, and walked back to Natalya and Zane. "Well, if you guys are wanting to keep an eye on her, that may be more difficult than we thought, because she's gone."

Sure enough, the chair was empty, the computer and phone left unmanned. Zane covertly glanced at Jordan, who nodded sharply and slid behind the desk, landing neatly in the chair. He was distracted for a few moments, spinning happily until he came to a sudden stop and worked at the computer for a while. He then looked up and nodded. "It says that one Sierra Prospero just checked out of the hotel half an hour ago. What do you want to bet that she's on her way to the airport?"

Natalya looked slightly worried, and said, "Worse than that, what do you want to bet that 'Betty' is following her there?"


	14. Dark Flight Chapter Fourteen

Dark Flight Chapter Fourteen

_Disclaimer:_ I do not own the Carpathian Series.

Sierra was doing her best to stay calm, focusing on the icy road in front of her instead of the car following hers. Shortly after she had pulled onto the road that would take her to the airport the fastest, a car pulled out after her, barely in sight. Sierra had spotted the vehicle quickly, however, and sped up slightly, but the car continued to steadily close the distance. This alone told her that it wasn't simply someone else on their way out of Yakutsk. Glancing behind her once again, Sierra sped up even more, praying that Zane wouldn't catch up to her before she got to the airport. She had figured out that Zane was behind her... After all, who else would be tailing her in the middle of the night?

Sierra fought herself to remain cool-headed, not allowing herself to press the gas pedal down further than she already had. Black ice was an all-too-real danger here where the weather changed rapidly. Besides, she told herself convincingly, she didn't have much further to go until she was at her destination. In fewer than ten minutes, she would be at the airport, boarding a flight to Seattle's Tacoma airport shortly after. From there, she would board another flight, and another, until she had traveled all across the country, leaving an impossible trail for Zane to follow, and would then head for Las Vegas, where she would be safe - at least for a little while. Nervously, Sierra peeked in her rear view mirror once again. Sure enough, the car was quite a bit closer than it was a few minutes ago. She had to find a way to escape this person and make her way safely to the airport!

* * *

The thing masquerading as Betty had lost its mask as soon as it left the airport and got into Betty's car. Now that the grandmotherly appearance was gone, 'Betty' was tall and gaunt, with stringy brown hair left clinging to a rotten, moldy skull. Eyes sunken deep into the head gleamed out menacingly. To make matters worse, the clothes were perfect, a pressed suit, perfectly in order with a nice tie. The creature chuckled as it inhaled deeply, scenting Sierra's fear. The car jumped forward as it sped up, but suddenly jerked, fishtailing across the highway. The car had struck black ice, and would have run off the road, but the thing managed to recover it before damage was done.

It swore as it sat in its car in the middle of the road. Sierra's car was now out of sight, having sped up when she saw his accident. The thing slammed its hand on the steering wheel and peeled out quickly, heedless of any further incidents. Vampires did not have to worry about things like car accidents that would only supply a temporary inconvenience. The once-Carpathian creature did not worry about his appearance now: he would make himself an illusion once he was almost to the airport, where he would board the plane along with Sierra, and be in the perfect place to offer comfort and sympathy over her close call with Zane.

* * *

Zane left the hotel in a flat-out run in the silence that had followed Natalya's chilling hypothesis. He did not care if the others followed him or not, he was going to save his lifemate. Whatever 'Betty' claimed to be, she was not a human woman, and that automatically made her a threat to Sierra. He called a taxi and hopped into the front passenger's seat, barely registering the slams of two other doors as Natalya and Jordan entered the cab as well. The buzzing of the fear in his head made it nearly impossible for him to give directions to the cab driver, but Zane managed to choke out in Russian that he needed to get to the closest airport as soon as possible, and that he would be willing to pay an outrageous tip if he made it there quickly. He heard the driver ask something in a low voice, and a second later it processed that the driver had asked exactly how much. Zane stated a large, three digit number in dollar, not bothering to work out the conversions. The taxi driver sat for a moment with a stunned look on his face, then looked determined as he stomped on the gas.

Zane could not prevent himself from pressing a hand to the glass of his window. Silently, he begged Sierra to hold on and to be okay. Her lifemate was on his way, and would prevent anything bad from happening to her. Inside, he berated himself harshly. He had not been taking this thing seriously enough. Somewhere inside of him, he thought of this situation as some kind of joke, or a game, but no longer. Now, there was something more than his pride at risk: his lifemate. He could not allow Sierra to be in danger. From this point forward, he would make it his sole mission in life to find Sierra and bring her with him, even if he became some type of tyrant.

The driver seemed to simply be pressing the gas pedal to the floor and pointing the cab in the direction he thought the road would turn next. Every now and then, he would stomp on the brakes and swerve to avoid a patch of black ice lying treacherously in the road. Despite the roar inside of his head, Zane managed to hear Jordan gasp a few times, and heard Natalya talking in a low angry voice. Zane did not know who exactly she was angry at, but he could not bring himself to care about anything other than the well-being of his lifemate, relationships with other be damned. They were only a few miles from the airport when Zane's sharp eyes spotted tire tracks where someone had hit a large patch of black ice. The driver slammed on the brakes once more, allowing Zane added time to study the marks. The person had recovered the car, and took off just as quickly. Zane was relieved that the person had driven away unharmed, especially if that person was Sierra, but what if it had been 'Betty' in the car? In any case, he was glad when the taxi driver recovered his speed once again and continued racing to the airport.

* * *

Sierra pulled into the parking lot of the airport, grabbed her suitcase and purse, and hauled ass into the building. Quickly, she paid for her ticket, got her baggage checked, turned in the keys to her rental car, and boarded the plane. Checking her ticket against the seat numbers, Sierra's shoulders slumped. She had a middle seat. As if the day wasn't bad enough. However, she got settled and sat down. Anxiety slowly took the place of nervousness, and Sierra knew from experience that the anxiety wouldn't go away until the plane, with her inside of it, took off. She sighed and settled back into her seat, pulling out her iPod. The plane wasn't due to take off for another ten minutes, so at least she could listen to music while having her panic attacks and watching out the window.

* * *

The vampire drove his car haphazardly into the lot, taking up several spaces, and opened the mirror in front of him to watch as he changed his appearance. Becoming handsome was not something that simply happened: it was a process, a fascinating process. The vampire's flesh seemed to smooth, swelling outward until his face was perfect. Next, the eyes changed from a deep-set faded black to an open-looking onyx. His lips grew fuller, evening out until they were totally unlike the wrinkled surface they had been before, and then his teeth straightened, looking perfectly white and not sharp at all. His hair, jet black, grew long and thick, falling in a devastating fringe over his newly recovered eyes. This look was almost a second form to him: he had used it many times over his years as a vampire.

With a winningly confident air, he strode inside, charmed the ticket woman into giving him a seat next to Sierra, and boarded the plane in nearly no time. He walked fluidly down the center aisle, standing comfortably at the end of Sierra's row. "Hello," he said easily, yet with an air of politeness. "I apologize, but I do believe my seat is the one next to yours. I hope this doesn't inconvenience you: Since this isn't a very crowded flight, I can go back and ask for a ticket in one of the other rows." He made a motion as if to walk back out of the plane, but Sierra stood and made a shooing motion toward his seat: the window seat.

"It's all right," she said kindly. "Besides, the plane is about to take off. You wouldn't want to miss your flight, would you?" She smiled, but the vampire could see a tinge of sadness in it. He had learned the nuances of Sierra's voice with his time spent as Betty. He had also learned the slight, nearly imperceptible facial expressions she wore when she was upset about something, and she was wearing them all. He nearly reached out to comfort her, but stopped himself, scowling. He was a centuries-old vampire, for crying out loud! He shook himself and walked over to sit in his seat.

When they were both sitting down, Sierra turned to him, trying to make him feel welcome: typical behavior for her. "Hi," she said, holding out her hand. "I figure since we'll be sitting next to each other for a while, we might as well get to know each other a bit. I'm Sierra."

He smiled, making sure it was his heartthrob smile, the one with the boyish grin and sparkling eyes that usually made women fall to their knees and worship him. Sierra's smile didn't flicker, nor did the friendly look in her eyes shift. He made himself keep smiling, and took Sierra's hand, kissing the back of it and returning it gently to her lap. "It is extremely nice to meet you, Sierra." There, surely she couldn't fail to miss the slight emphasis he had put on the 'nice'. However, she remained the same. Puzzled at his lack of effect on her, he went on, forgetting to feed Sierra a fake name. "I am Aizel."

Damn. Aizel covered for himself by glancing out the window, noting that they were about to take off_. Ha, so Zane did not manage to make this flight_. He couldn't stop the feeling of satisfaction, which increased as he watched a taxi pull frantically into the parking lot. His amusement grew as he watched Zane spring out of the passenger-side door and gaze longingly at the windows on the plane. Aizel couldn't prevent an evil grin from crossing his face as he watched Zane find him with his eyes. Giving a mocking wave, Aizel became satisfied as he watched the recognition cross Zane's face, followed by anger, and a bit of fear. Before Zane could do anything, the plane began to move down the runway. Aizel sat back, stifling his grin, and enjoyed the flight.

* * *

Zane watched the plane disappear into the distance with a feeling of intense fright. Eventually, an angry voice broke through his thoughts, and Zane recognized it as the taxi driver's voice. He dug in his pocket and absently threw several wadded up bills at the driver, who counted them and peeled out of the parking lot, presumably before Zane could change his mind. Jordan appeared beside him, patting him on the back. "I'm sorry, man. We just missed her. But hey, now we can go inside and find out where she was headed. Cheer up, dude, we'll find her again."

Zane did not respond to any of this. Natalya walked up. "Zane," she questioned carefully, knowing something was wrong. "What's going on? What's wrong now?"

"That man," Zane said dazedly. "That man next to her in the plane, the one who waved... that was Aizel." Natalya gasped, horrified as she processed the full extent of what had happened.

Jordan, completely oblivious, asked, "What? What's so bad about this Aizer guy?"

"Aizel," Zane corrected. "You know about Carpathian bloodlines and how strong they each are. Dragonseekers are one of the strongest lines out of all the Carpathain bloodlines: That is which one Natalya is a part of. Well, let us just say that Aizel is one of the few that have ever become a vampire, and he is the oldest one of those. He thinks I did him wrong in the past, something to do with his lifemate, so he will try to take his revenge on Sierra. We have to stop him."

In the background of his thoughts, Zane vaguely heard Jordan sigh in excitement, and say under his breath, "This is so _cool_!" However, Zane was too focused on coming up with a plan to rescue his lifemate from Aizel.

They _would _get her back.


	15. Dark Flight Chapter Fifteen

**Dark Flight Chapter Fifteen**

_Disclaimer:_ I do not own the Carpathian Series.

After introductions were made, a companionable silence settled over Sierra and Aizel. Since they were now flying, they both assumed that no one else was sitting in their row, and Sierra moved over one seat to the inner one. Shortly after, Sierra chose to listen to her iPod to help pass the time. Eventually, however, she became frustrated. Her iPod was on shuffle and all the songs that it played reminded her of Zane in one way or another. It was so irritating! With an aggravated sigh, Sierra ripped the earphones out of her ears and wrapped them around the iPod itself, then storing it in her purse. Aizel looked over with a small smile on his face.

"I hope it was not me who aggravated you?" He stated half-questioningly.

Sierra smiled back. "No, it's just this...person I'm dealing with. He irritates me to pieces, but I can't stop thinking about him for some reason. I feel so restless!" She let out a laugh that sounded more like a sob. "I suppose I may be going crazy. Maybe someone will just get it over with and lock me in an insane asylum."

Aizel looked over at her with an expression full of unwilling sympathy and resentful understanding. "It's all right. Everyone feels like that when they first get into a relationship. I take it that this guy isn't a roll-over-and-give-up type of guy." Sierra let out another sob-laugh and shook her head. Aizel went on. "Well, then, maybe the thing to do isn't to run from him, but to give him a chance." He nearly laughed at the look of all-out shock Sierra sent him, but even he wasn't _that_callous. He nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, I think that's just the thing to do. You have got to stop avoiding him. Talk to him face-to-face, and tell him how you feel." Aizel luxuriated in the feeling of the simple yet evil lie. That wasn't what he really thought Sierra should do, but all he knew about her told Aizel that whatever Sierra was told to do, she wouldn't do. This was the perfect way to encourage Sierra to keep running without sounding like a bad guy or making her think over things again, and possibly reconsider running.

He watched, amused as he saw Sierra's face turn stubborn and decided. She would now never allow herself to give Zane a chance. Poor bastard.

* * *

As Zane stood hopeless in the place where he had last seen his lifemate, Jordan had darted inside to find out that the last plane to leave had departed for Seattle, Washington. As it turned out, that was an exceedingly popular place around the Yakutsk area, and another flight was due to leave in a matter of hours. Natalya, understanding Zane's shock, took him inside and made him sit down. He then stared off into space, picturing all of the horrible things that Aizel could be doing to Sierra, and most likely would. For the first time, he wished that he had a less perfect imagination.

When Natalya next spoke to him, it was gently, and only to tell him that they could now board the plane. They would only be three hours behind Sierra and Aizel, but in Zane's pessimistic opinion, it would be three hours too late. He sat in his seat, dimly aware of the people around him, vaguely jealous of their ability to be human. For the rest of the flight, he would be in deep contemplation of he and his lifemate's situation, and how best to fix it.

* * *

Sierra stretched as she stood up, working to relax muscles she had tensed while the plane landed. She reached the grab her purse, but was stopped by Aizel's hand on her arm while he gentlemanly retrieved her bag for her. When they both straightened up, he met her eyes sadly. "So, I suppose that this is where we must part. It was a pleasure to meet you, Sierra. Might I inquire as to what you will be doing in Seattle?"

Sierra smiled at him just as sadly. "Yes, I guess we won't be seeing each other after this, will we? I'm going off to see Mount Rainier National Park. Where will you be going?"

He shrugged. "I am simply going to explore. Perhaps I will see you around?"

The hope in Aizel's eyes made Sierra's heart ache, but she didn't think it was a good idea for Aizel to know she wasn't going to be staying in Seattle for a long time. "Maybe," she said noncommittally.

When she had finished getting her things, she rented a car (she got a different colored one each time) and asked directions from a man standing outside. She followed his directions and, in a certain amount of time, arrived at Mount Rainier National Park.

* * *

Zane knew that the plane had landed, but he made no move to stand up. He saw with unfocused eyes that Natalya was standing in front of him, but he did not care. Why would he when his lifemate was dead? Was this how Aizel had felt? If so, Zane could almost understand why he had done what he did...

Something collided with the side of his face, making a loud noise and stinging. Zane blinked, seeing his surroundings for the first time. Natalya was standing in front of him still, and had one hand in the air. She slapped him again. He shook his head, realizing how out of it he had been. Natalya rose her hand once again, and Zane found it easy with his restored instincts and clarity of sight to grasp her hand by the wrist when it was scarcely two inches from his face.

Instead of scowling, as she usually would have done, Natalya smiled at him. Zane could feel relief radiating from beside him, and turned to find Jordan there, smiling at him as well. Zane stood up quickly, anger and resolve making a perfect mixture of determination in his stomach. They walked from the plane and began questioning people, attempting to discover where Sierra had gone. After about half an hour, Jordan discovered that she had left, thankfully alone, to go to Mount Rainier National Park. The group rented a car and set out after her.

* * *

Sierra was in love with this National Park. The mountain, the flowers, the glaciers, all of it was just beautiful. So far, she had only viewed the flowers in close-range, but she would be walking to the others as soon as she was done looking at a beautiful waterfall, labeled Christine Falls, from where she stood on a bridge standing over it. She wasn't close enough to feel any spray, but she could almost imagine that she stood beneath it. Yes, she could practically feel the drops on her face... Sierra blinked. No, that wasn't her imagination after all, it was really raining. She had a mere second or two to hope that it wouldn't rain too hard, but then it began to pour. Sierra looked around herself mournfully. She yearned to continue to explore the beautiful area, but visibility was down to nearly zero and Zane was still after her. Regretfully, Sierra returned to her car and drove back into Seattle, looking for anything else to do.

Fortunately, Seattle had quite an extensive array of museums. Sierra quickly decided on a museum called Experience Music Project. After forking over twenty dollars, she spent a blissful afternoon among the largest collection of music and sci-fi stuff that she had ever seen.

* * *

Zane had driven with the others up to the National Park, but quickly realized that trying to search for Sierra was useless. The area was huge, and it would be nearly impossible to find any one person in it. Zane forced himself to calm down. He had been focusing on the detective angle for too long. He was Carpathian, and he knew his lifemate. She would try to stay here if at all possible, but the heavy rain would force her to leave. Where would she have gone? Zane closed his eyes and thought of Sierra, everything about her, down to the smallest detail. Suddenly, he found himself staring out through the eyes of a person he assumed to be Sierra. He also found himself face to face with something he had not seen since his childhood, several hundred years before:

An Italian-made guitar from around the 1770's.

It brought back many memories. He and his friends had been out in town, enjoying the sights, sounds, and the feeling of being Carpathian. The drunkenness of youth was coursing through them and they were laughing, ambling from area to area, watching plays, craftsmen, and musicians of all kinds. Zane and his two friends, Ciro and Angelo, had stopped at a set of stairs where a young man was playing one of these very guitars and singing softly. The boys ceased their laughter and stopped, standing perfectly still so that they could merely listen. The man was singing a popular song of the day, his voice easily following the complex rises and falls his fingers coaxed from the guitar. Each boy solemnly dropped a piece of silver into the clay bowl sitting in front of him. The man smiled, not saying anything, but the children were not offended. It would be a crime for this man to stop the miraculous tune.

The boys walked away, and they soon were laughing and joking good-naturedly again, but all of them retained a new respect for the musical abilities of the humans.

Zane blinked, losing his sight through Sierra, but he was all right with that. He knew that there could not be that many of those guitars left in existence, and that would be an easy way to find Sierra. However, his flashback had taken energy from him, and Natalya and Jordan looked rather worn out as well. Zane suggested that they go to find a hotel room to stay in for a while. His traveling companions argued, knowing that he would keep going but was taking it easy for them. Zane managed to convince them that he was exceedingly tired, and they found a hotel room to crash in for a few hours. Zane lay on the roll-away bed they had received from the hotel and tried to shut his thoughts off. Eventually, he succeeded, and fell into the deepest non-Carpathian sleep of his life.

* * *

Sierra laughed to herself and she subtly eavesdropped on a group of teenaged boys standing in front of an exhibit on lightsabers. They had been arguing rather heatedly over why lightsabers could cut through anything except for their own handles. None of them had posed a solid theory so far, but Sierra was enjoying their absolute rejections of each others ideas.

"No way! If they could do that, then his light-saber could have cut through that thing in episode..."

It had been too long since Sierra had seen the Star Wars films for her to know exactly what they were talking about, but she followed the conversation until the group moved away and began to fight over some aspect of the ray gun likelyhood. She stifled a laugh and walked in the opposite direction, looking through a display of Klingon daggers and then moving on to another display about spacesuits and what the gadgets really did. Maybe she could run to space to get away from Zane? She shook her head at her train of thought, and did her best not to let herself picture what he would be saying right now if he were here_. "What are those boys talking about? It is not a wonder that none of them are here with women. They must learn to think about other things than why ray guns cannot exist_." All right, so Sierra's impulse control sucked, but still, she really should be able to look at things without thinking about Zane. After all, she was here to avoid him.

If she was having such problems with thinking about him, why did she keep avoiding him? Why didn't she just take Aizel's advice and give him a chance? Her spine stiffened. He had told her, ordered her to give Zane a chance. She wasn't some five year old to be told what to do. Sierra was certain that Aizel was just giving her some well-meaning advice, but she couldn't bring herself to just give in to Zane, after all of the effort she had put into avoiding him. No, Sierra would simply have to get over him.

* * *

Aizel had lost Sierra when she left the airport, but had waited patiently until Zane arrived with a man and a woman. Zane would find out where Sierra had gone: he was one determined sonovabitch. After tailing Zane for a while, Zane had merely checked into a nearby hotel. Damn. Aizel really wasn't in the mood to play sleuth and stake out the hotel, so he went to another hotel, and plotted.


	16. Dark Flight Chapter Sixteen

**Dark Flight Chapter Sixteen**

_Disclaimer: _I do not own the Carpathian Series

When Sierra rolled out of bed the next morning, she had a plan. Following the research she had done last night, she was going to fly across the country, landing at the Philadelphia International Airport. A few hours later, she would fly to an airport in Shreveport, Louisiana. After that, she would fly to Las Vegas, unless she caught sight of Zane. She was more determined than ever to evade her supposed 'lifemate', once and for all. She got ready, packing her nightclothes after changing into comfortable traveling clothes. After grabbing her things from the bathroom, she slipped on her tennis shoes, grabbed her purse and keys, and left.

Once Sierra arrived at the airport, she turned over the keys to her rental car, bought her ticket, and boarded the plane. Sitting there, she thought about Aizel. She would miss him, but it was a little strange how he seemed to understand her situation all too well. Oh, well. She put her headphones into her ears and did her best to ignore those songs that reminded her of Zane.

* * *

Aizel loved Seattle. For some reason, probably his Dragonseeker heritage, he didn't seem to have the symptoms that other vampires had, at least not such extreme ones. Interestingly enough, when he was fully Carpathian, he still craved food, and the habit continued today with Aizel even enjoying meat once in a while. Carpathian voices never bothered him with their purity: he could make his voice sound like that as well when he tried, tricking Carpathians as well as humans. When he was in direct sunlight, his skin seemed to burn, but there were no actual marks upon it. With Seattle's cloudy skies, he felt as good as he pictured a human would. Aizel lived a good life, except for the lack of his lifemate, and he felt especially vibrant while in Seattle.

After relaxing for a while, Aizel finally tracked the car Zane had rented. It was sitting at a museum, something having to do with music, but only the young man had gotten out of the vehicle. After he left, it seemed that the woman was yelling at Zane, but she abruptly quieted. The two sat for a moment, then the young man came back, looking excited, and got back into the car. He said something, then looked at the pair in the front seat, seeming to not understand something. However, Zane nodded curtly and the car left, driving in the direction of a different hotel, no one managing to spot Aizel.

Aizel, for reasons which he did not fully understand, went to the airport. As a ex-Dragonseeker, he had learned to follow these feelings. They usually took him somewhere interesting, if not always good.

* * *

Zane watched the road carefully. He seemed to be exceedingly distracted today, and he did not want to be the cause of a car crash. Beside him, Natalya sat, still steaming from their most recent argument:

_"Zane, you knew Sierra was here yesterday, didn't you?" Natalya had interrogated. "Why didn't you come here then?"_

_Zane had shook his head. "I did not know anything. I was too tired to register what the pictures I received from Sierra meant. If I had known she was here, do you think I would not have come and gotten her?"_

_"No!" Natalya denied. "You thought we looked tired, so instead of asking us if we wanted to keep going, you did the high-handed thing and decided that you would make us rest, losing your chance to find Sierra, you know, the whole reason we're here? I hate Carpathian males!"_

_Realizing that trying to lie to Natalya again would be fruitless, Zane did the one thing he had been trying to avoid: He was going to have to tell the truth and sound weak and vulnerable. "Natalya, I... I saw something that made me think of my childhood. I realized that I do not like the man I have become. I needed to go somewhere and get some rest. I apologize." _

_Natalya had simply stopped. She settled in her seat, and stared out of the window. In a voice no less angry for its low volume, she said, "You should have told me. You have got to stop this Lone Ranger bullshit. There is absolutely no reason for you to suffer alone."_

_At that point, Jordan had gotten back into the car. "Guys, you'll never guess what I just found out! I described Sierra, and the man said that she was here yesterday, and that this had fallen out of her pocket!" The man held up a piece of paper with the name of a local hotel written across the top of it. "There's what looks like a flight number written on it. I think we should go to the hotel and find out whether Sierra is still there or not."_

_When there was no reply, Jordan seemed to get upset. Sticking his face between them, he looked from Zane to Natalya, back and forth. "Guys, don't you get it? I found a clue that could help us find Sierra? Don't you think we should get started on it before it goes bad?"_

_Zane nodded, and backed the car carefully out of the parking spot, then pulled onto the road that would take him to the hotel._

They were almost to the hotel before Jordan, unable to take the silence any more, spoke. "Okay, guys, I'm not completely stupid. What's going on? You guys must have gotten into a fight or something when I went inside, am I wrong?"

Zane could feel Natalya looking at him, but he did not answer. Quietly, she said, "Not a fight, Jordan, just a minor disagreement."

"Whatever!" Jordan could not possibly sound more disbelieving. "I had parents, remember?"

Zane snorted and merely continued to drive. Jordan slumped back into the backseat, pouting. Zane was grateful that they were nearly to the hotel Jordan had pointed out. He could not possibly take much more of Natalya's impatience and Jordan's sulkiness.

* * *

Sierra was on the ground in Philadelphia. The plane had landed without a single hitch, and now she was free to explore for the next few hours until her plane was due to take off. Sierra hailed a cab and instructed the driver to take her to Independence Hall. He obliged, and got her there in record time. She paid him quickly and exited the taxi. Since it was early in the morning, the area wasn't crowded yet: in fact, Sierra nearly had the place to herself. Putting her face up, Sierra gazed admiringly at the large clock placed in the front of the tower, which rose up picturesquely against the heavily clouded sky. She breathed in, imagining that she had gone back in time to when horse hooves clip-clopped down the cobblestone streets. The women walked around in fancy dresses and the men wore suits. The fresh breeze blew, rustling the leaves in the trees, no hint of pollution besmirching the air.

All too soon, Sierra was startled back to reality when an automobile drove past. However, she didn't let it faze her. She strode along, soaking up the history. She walked around for a while, then went inside the grand old building. She took her time looking around, not wanting to take a tour. Small plaques here and there often told her whatever she wanted to know. After she had seen everything that she wanted to see, and most things twice, Sierra went to go see the Liberty Bell and all other historical things she could find in the area. She ended up walking along a random street for some reason, she didn't know why. It wasn't a good idea to be out in some seemingly deserted place all alone while Zane was hunting for her. Aggravatedly, Sierra told her inner self to shut the hell up and kept walking.

Eventually, Sierra noticed that she was following her nose now instead of simply walking. Something smelled absolutely delicious, and the scent was thankfully getting stronger. Suddenly, she came upon an odd little intersection. The two intersecting streets formed an X. On opposing sides facing each other were two restaurants. The restaurant Sierra was standing closer to was flashy and painted white with neon orange edging, and from where she was now standing, Sierra could see the name: Geno's Steaks. On the other side of the street, the other restaurant was plainer-looking, painted white with no embellishments, named Pat's Steaks.

_Uh-oh_, Sierra thought_. I've walked right into a food war! And it's all over cheesesteaks_! Since Sierra was a sucker for all things flashy and already on this side of the busy street, she decided to go to Geno's, and had almost made it to the counter when she heard someone calling her name. It was a mark of the mood she was in that at first, she looked around, checking the pictures of various famous people that had visited the restaurant. But none of them seemed to be feeling very talkative at the moment, so she continued looking around. A man jogged across the street from Pat's, grasping her by the elbow. Sierra was shocked to see Aizel smiling wondrously at her.

"Hey! What are you doing here?" He queried excitedly. Before she could answer, he continued, a look of distaste upon his face as he glared up at Geno's. "You weren't actually going to eat here, were you?"

Sierra nodded, then gathered her thoughts enough to ask, "Why are you here?"

Aizel waved a careless hand. "Oh, I just got a feeling that I should come home and visit my relatives who live in the area. I got hungry and chose to eat here, and then you showed up! Anyway, you really shouldn't eat this crap. Everyone with _brains_ knows that you should eat at _Pat's_!" As he verbalized that last statement, Aizel raised his voice, glaring defiantly at those Philadelphians who glared at muttered at him. He also returned a hand gesture to the guy behind the serving counter. After he was done with his performance, Aizel wrapped an arm around Sierra's shoulders and guided her over to Pat's, where he received a cheer for sticking it to the Geno's crowd. Their meals were on the house, and Sierra could hardly stop grinning long enough to eat, though the food was delicious, especially while eaten in the open air restaurant. Along with boardwalk-style french fries and a drink called birch beer, it was the perfect meal, except for those individuals who were still glaring at them from Geno's. These people and their food!

* * *

Zane strode angrily out of the hotel and got into the car, slamming his door. Once inside, nothing was said, but Zane could _feel _the satisfaction pouring off of Jordan. "Go ahead," he growled menacingly at Jordan. "Say something, boast, brag, but remember, I could leave your ass for the vampires any time I choose to."

Jordan, evidently taking this chilling invitation literally said, "Okay! I told you that if you wanted to catch Sierra, we should have started last night, not late this morning. But noo, you had to mope about your childhood. We could have-" He broke off nervously as Zane got out of the car and slammed his door. However, instead of walking around the car to beat the crap out of Jordan, Zane went back into the hotel "What's he doing?" Jordan asked Natalya. "Him going back inside isn't going to make Sierra come back."

Natalya simply said confidently, "If I know Zane, he's got some sort of angle that's going to pay off in the end. Just wait and see."

Jordan sat back and did his best to settle in.

Inside, Zane was walking back up to the counter. The girl inside looked up and sighed. "I'm sorry about your fiancee, sir, but there really is nothing I can do to bring her back. She did not leave any information about where she was going, and her room was fully cleaned out: I've checked. Is there anything else I can help you with, sir?"

Zane had been rather upset when he had found out that Sierra was no longer staying there, which he now regretted. Pasting on his best gentlemanly smile, he told the girl, "Yes, there is something else you could do for me. Did there happen to have been a man here..." He described how Aizel had looked as a Carpathian, the same appearance he was now using as a disguise.

To Zane's astonishment, the girl blushed and giggled. "Yes, sir, I do know him. His name is Aizel." She spoke the name with a reverence usually reserved for rock stars and movie actors. "He told me that he was headed for Philadelphia. Too bad, huh?"

"Yes," Zane said shortly. "Too bad. Thank you." With that, he turned sharply and left. Damn that bastard, son of a bitch Aizel! Not only had he been staying in the same hotel as Sierra, he had found out where she was going and had followed her there. It would be a miracle if he had not hurt Sierra by the time Zane could reach them. He walked back out to the car in a blacker mood than before. If Jordan said one word...

"What happened?" Zane clenched his fists and did his best to keep his rage from Jordan. Natalya, sensing the weak control he had over himself right now, placed a hand on his shoulder and turned to talk to Jordan.

"Jordan, just give him a moment to calm down and he'll explain everything."

Zane took several deep breaths, then ended up more upset than before since that was a habit he had picked up from Sierra. In a move his cousins had taught him, Zane steadily lowered his body temperature until he was little more than a hunk of ice, forcing his mind to concentrate on the cold rather than his anger. When the feelings receded, he slowly raised his temperature degree by single degree until he was normal again.

"I found out that Aizel stayed in this very hotel, and that he left for Philadelphia nearly the same time that Sierra did."

Natalya asked, "So what do you want to do now? Do you want to go to Philadelphia?" Zane nodded.

"Cool!" Jordan erupted from the backseat. "I've always wanted to go to Philly! I want to see Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and eat one of those cheesesteaks!"

Zane shook his head. "There will not be time for sightseeing. If I know Sierra, she will have planned to land and take off again in a short matter of hours. We will ask around at the airport, find out where Sierra has gone to this time, then buy tickets and go after her immediately. Understood?"

Both of the others in the car nodded, and Zane took off grim-faced for the airport.


	17. Dark Flight Chapter Seventeen

**Dark Flight Chapter Seventeen**

_Disclaimer:_ I do not own the Carpathian Series

After much convincing, Sierra had left Aizel behind so that she could return to the airport. Admittedly, after this many coincidences, she felt a strong need to keep him with her, but he could be working with Zane, so she had to move on alone. She got to the airport, bought a one-way ticket to Shreveport, Louisiana, and boarded the small plane that would take her there. Inside the plane, there were two rows on either side, each row having two seats in it. Sierra took her purse and settled in her spot, pleased that she had finally gotten her window seat. Two women boarded the plane shortly after her, obviously together. Sierra hunched in her seat, making sure she looked unwelcoming, but subtly turned the volume down so that she could hear what the women were saying.

The first one said, "Oh, dear, they have placed us in two separate rows."

The second one didn't seem to be worried. "Well, once we get up into the air, I suspect we'll be able to find seats together somehow or another." Sierra thought to herself that this statement seemed rather menacing. The woman went on. "So why is it that you are going to Louisiana?" Sierra had been wondering much the same thing. The two fashionable women looked more as if they would be going to New Orleans, or some large city like that, rather than to a relatively smaller town in the middle of the state.

The first one sighed. "I need a change of scenery. It seems that ever since that horrible episode happened with the queen, nothing else is talked about. The stress is wearing on me, and I would like to go somewhere else, somewhere that I can have fun."

The second one nodded sympathetically. "Yes, I agree. As much as I hate to bring up the dreaded subject, I feel it is my duty as one of our race to ask: Have the investigators found out anything in their investigation or are they still merely taking shots in the dark?"

The first one now seemed aggravated. "All they do is sit around and pose theories about that guardian-gone-wrong, Rose Hathaway. Oh, and that Strigoi who they think turned back into a dhampir, Dimitri Belikov."

"Oh, nevermind them. They have been gossiped about since nearly the milli-second Belikov was sent to retrieve Hathatway and the princess. It only seems natural to blame the two of them, but hardly original. That Hathaway girl always struck me as being smarter than that. However, darling..." She trailed off, and Sierra could practically feel the gaze of the second woman burning upon her. "Are you certain that we should be talking about this in front of a human?"

Her seemingly innocent question sent a chill up Sierra's spine. Human? If these two were something other than humans, that would explain their talking about a queen. Sierra didn't know of any queens visiting America, and these women didn't have foreign accents. She fought not to stiffen, and kept from looking up.

The first woman seemed dismissive. "Not to worry, she has those headphones in her ears. She can't hear a single thing we're saying, I can guarantee it."

Just then, the pilot walked in, giving Sierra an excuse to sit up and yank the headphones out of her ears. Glancing over, she saw two tall and slender women with perfect features, both with straight blonde hair, though they weren't related. Sierra smiled politely, and the two women smiled back, one of them showing perfectly straight teeth in her smile. When Sierra looked closer, she saw that her canines were slightly extended. The other woman nudged her, and the sharp-toothed one raised a hand to cover her mouth.

"Excuse me," she said to the other. "I had to skip my daily feeder in order to make this flight."

Her friend smiled and gestured over toward Sierra, who was careful not to look at them any more other than out of the corners of her eyes. "Well, if you find yourself getting too hungry, you can always turn her into a little snack. She looks delicious." Sierra decided then that it would be best if she stayed awake on this flight.

The pilot cleared his throat to get their attention. "Excuse me, ladies. I am your pilot. Since there are only to be three of you on this flight, feel free to change seats and spread out a little. Now, as to exits..." He lectured for about ten minutes on what to do if an emergency happened. After that, he returned to the front, and the two women moved further back on the plane.

From what Sierra could hear before she curled up with her book and her iPod, the women were planning to go to some place called Fangtasia. _Hmm,_ she thought. _That might be something to check out_.

For the rest of the flight, Sierra sat with her back against the window, her coat draped over her like a blanket, iPod in her ears, and a book on her lap. It was extraordinarily cozy. It was difficult to not doze off, but Sierra's fear of the women still tingled throughout her body, and she stayed wide awake.

* * *

Zane had quickly found the man who had sold a ticket to Sierra and discovered where she was going: some small town in Louisiana. Fortunately, someone with money had paid a plane to leave for there immediately, and Sierra had only left a mere hour ago. This by no means ensured that Zane would find his lifemate easily, but if Sierra did not find out that he was also in town, it could mean the very lead he needed to capture her once and for all.

With typical Carpathian battle wariness, Zane had long ago mapped out his entire plan for what he would do once he found Sierra, with enough just-in-cases to cover every possible emergency. However, since Zane also had typical Carpathian male confidence, he was not worried in the slightest about Sierra not liking him very well after he found her and brought her back to his homeland. He was sure that she would grow to love him in time. Zane found Natalya and Jordan, told them the good news, and got them all on the plane.

They had only been sitting for five minutes when the other group entered the plane. There were several men, but only one woman was in the crowd. The men were all dark and looked dangerous. The woman stood out in looks with her perfect features and red hair, but she seemed to belong somehow. All of them were seated toward the back of the plane, except for one. He remained standing and made a move as if to walk toward them, but the woman clung to his arm. More gently than you would expect of the man, he helped her to sit down and spoke to her in a low tone of voice, obviously reassuring her.

The pilot walked in, doing the usual speech, but he obviously knew the man who was standing up since the pilot did not ask him to sit down. When finished, the pilot returned to the front, and the man continued to walk toward them. Zane took the extra time to study the man.

His shoulders were broad, his hair was dark, as well as his eyes. His gait was smooth and practiced, and was the gait of a fighter, if not a true warrior. Zane recognized the gait well. When the man finally made his way to them fully, he smiled, although it was little more than a flash of teeth.

"Hello," he said in a semi-deep voice. "I guess you guys are the ones riding along with us to Shreveport. I'm Sabin, and this," he gestured behind him, "is my crew."

Zane heard an odd sound. Looking around, he spotted Natalya, who was apparently holding in a laugh. Zane gave her a strange look, then did his best to ignore her. Meeting Sabin's eyes once again, he said, "I am Zane, and this is _my _crew. This is Jordan, and that is Natalya. Are we to be introduced to the rest of your crew as well?"

Baring his teeth once again, Sabin looked toward the group of people at the back of the plane and jerked his head once sharply. A crowd of people descended on them, all circling the spot where Zane sat with Natalya and Jordan. The red-haired woman stood next to Sabin, twining her arm possessively around his. He kissed her gently on the very top of her head. "This is my wife, Gwen."

Zane sketched a bow to her. Sabin began to introduce the men standing around the, moving in a circle. "That is Amun, that is Gideon, that is Strider, that is Aeron, and that is Parris." They received head nods from each of the men except for Gideon, who shook his head. After the introductions were made, Zane noticed the one called Strider and the one called Parris were talking. He zeroed in on their conversation, and was appalled to learn that they were discussing whether or not Parris would sleep with Natalya. Zane glared at them and growled menacingly, low in his throat.

Sabin laughed mockingly. "Calm yourself, Carpathian. They aren't going to do anything with your woman."

Zane rose suddenly, staring into Sabin's eyes. "How do you know what I am?" he growled.

Sabin stared back, not concerned in the slightest. "Easy, I could smell you as soon as I boarded the plane. Your...possession, your darkness. All of you Carpathians smell that way. As I said, Parris and Strider didn't mean any harm, and they won't be doing anything with your woman."

"Firstly, she is not my woman, but my brother's who I have sworn to protect." Natalya smacked Zane's arm when he said that, muttering something about how she did not belong to anyone. He ignored her, speaking to Sabin once more. "And what exactly do you mean by possession?"

Sabin leaned closer. "I mean the fact that you are so insecure in your manhood that you are threatened by all other males and that you have to control every little thing that your 'lifemate' does." Every other male in the circle let out that fifth-grade _oooh _sound.

Gwen smiled at Natalya, who was quick to smile back. Gwen gripped Sabin's arm tighter and spoke. "Sabin, darling, I don't think you have room to be talking. After all, you've had your possessive moments too. Remember when you first saw my skin and you said that you didn't want any other male to see it? That's called possession, sweetheart. Leave the man alone. Just because we're on the same plane doesn't mean that we all have to interact. Oh, and call off your little immature, leather-wearing posse."

She walked to the back of the plane, taking Natalya with her. All of the males sat staring, open-mouthed. Jordan, who never seemed to be able to keep quiet, said to Sabin, "Dude, you just got _told_. I don't think you're going to be sleeping in your bed for a year."

Sabin turned on Jordan with an odd expression, half scowling, half menacing smile. "Oh yeah? Well you may never sleep in your bed ever again. What could you do to stop me from coming over there and snapping your head off right now?" He faked a move toward Jordan.

Jordan, calm and un-flappable as ever, whipped out a gun that no one had known he had and pointed it at Sabin. Sabin laughed. "What, you think I'm insignificant enough to be killed with a bullet? I have news for you kid, bullets don't even hurt that badly." The others laughed with him, and Strider made a move as if to take the gun. Jordan flipped up, using his hand on the back of the seat to balance him, propelled himself upward, and landed in the aisle three feet behind Sabin, who slowly turned.

Jordan smiled too. "Yeah, I know bullets don't hurt that badly. And, since I would hate to disappoint you, it's a good thing that these are special-government issue acid bullets. Once they hit, boom! You've got acid burning all throughout your system until you would wish you _could_ die."

Everyone stared open-mouthed at Jordan, who gave them a crazy smile and turned to walk back where Natalya and Gwen were seated. "What are you?" Strider muttered. Jordan looked back over his shoulder and smiled again. "I used to be in the Secret Service, until I was kicked out for being unnecessarily violent."

He was gone, and there was an awkward silence until Strider chortled. They all turned to stare at him. Instead of being embarrassed, Strider looked eager to let them in on the joke. Still half-chuckling, he said, "Hey, I just thought of a good one. What do you call a-" While the women were in the back talking to each other and Jordan, the men spent the rest of the flight sitting in a group and telling dirty jokes.

_Credit for Characters Borrowed From:_

The Vampire Academy Series

The Lord of the Underworld Series

_Disclaimer Number Two: _I do not own any of these series either.


	18. Dark Flight Chapter Eighteen

**Dark Flight Chapter Eighteen**

_Disclaimer:_ I do not own the Carpathian Series. Get comfortable, because this is going to be a longer-than-normal chapter, literally more than twice as long as a normal chapter and I will also be publishing another chapter today: make them last. I am going out of town for Thanksgiving, so I won't be able to publish while I'm gone. My next chapter will probably be out Sunday or Monday. In case I can't publish later, have a happy Thanksgiving!

When the plane landed in Shreveport, Sierra was careful to let the two women leave the plane before she did. She did the same thing she had done back when she was in high school, trying to avoid attention when she was out of class and a teacher happened to walk by: She ducked her head to the other side, and dug in her purse like she had lost something inside of it. Sure enough, the women passed her by without a second glance, and Sierra relaxed when they left the plane. After grabbing her things, she left the plane.

Sierra wasn't planning on spending a lot of time in Shreveport, only a day or two, then she would go on to Las Vegas, unless she caught sight of Zane. She knew what she would do if that happened, but she did her best not to think of it. Quickly, it was becoming her worst nightmare to be caught by Zane, and he had already been all too close a time before. After getting off of the plane, Sierra realized that she had missed a crucial detail: What the hell was she going to do in Shreveport? It was sunset, and most of the businesses were closing. Apparently, there wasn't much of a nightlife in Shreveport.

Suddenly, Sierra remembered the place that the two women had mentioned. What was the name of it? Fangtasia, that was it. After she checked into her hotel, she would have to check it out. After arriving at the place she had reserved a room at, Sierra decided to change out of her traveling clothes. She slipped into one of her favorite tops, a tight deep purple one with ice blue flames licking along the bottom of the hem and the same color blue was in the ribbons lacing up the back of the shirt. She also wore black jeans that had been through the washer often enough that they were now gray. After adding silver earrings, bracelets, a ring, and her lip ring, Sierra let her hair down, mussed it enough to make it look good, added a small amount of makeup and walked outside. She hailed a taxi and instructed the driver to take her to Fangtasia. The driver complied, Sierra paid her, and she was left standing there in the clothes she had just changed into.

It was fully dark, and people were moving into the building at a rapid rate. Fangtasia must have just opened it's doors for the night. Sierra, not wanting to have to fight the crowd to make her way indoors, chose a nearby bench to seat herself on, arranging herself comfortably. She felt rather naked without her purse, but had chosen to leave it behind since she didn't know what kind of place Fangtasia was. Sierra must have been deeper in thought than she would have assumed, because there was suddenly a person sitting beside her. Sierra hadn't even heard her approach. The person was a she, having long blonde hair, and dressed almost entirely in black. Due to the poor lighting, that was all Sierra could see of the woman.

"It is a lovely evening, do you not agree?" Her voice was musical.

Sierra couldn't quite believe that the woman was talking to her, but it seemed rude to just sit there and not not say anything at all. "Yes, it is a beautiful night. I've never been anywhere that you can see so many of the stars." Except for Lebanon, but she wasn't going to admit that out loud to a perfect stranger who may put the pieces together. Damn, she was becoming paranoid.

The woman's lips tilted at their full, red painted edges. "Yes, the stars. How often I stare up at them, no matter how old I grow, and simply think, finally at peace. But alas, time goes on, and I must be moving along, inside to go to work. Where are you going, weary traveler?"

Sierra was taken aback even more at this. "W-weary? Um... I'm going inside Fangtasia in just a moment. I wanted to wait for the crowd to thin out, so I sat here and started thinking, and I suppose time got away from me." She knew she was babbling, but she couldn't seem to stop herself.

The woman smiled wider, still not looking directly at Sierra. "So, you do not want to simply be one with the crowd. Interesting." She stood abruptly, holding a hand out to Sierra. "Come along. It is time for me to work my shift in there, and I have enjoyed talking with you. We will continue our discussion inside."

Hesitantly, Sierra took the woman's hand. The woman smiled, and said softly, "My name is Kiara, meaning 'dark'. What is yours?"

"Sierra, meaning... well, I think it means 'mountains' or something." Kiara laughed softly and guided her inside Fangtasia.

The building, which Sierra figured out was a bar, was painted black, red, and gray. Framed pictures of actors were everywhere, each of them having played in some vampire movie or another. Sierra couldn't see any other particular details about the area, since the lighting was typically dim. People were everywhere, which Sierra would have guessed anyway, judging from the line that had been outside. However, Sierra had made the mistake of looking at the number of people instead of what they were wearing. Everyone seemed to be dressed differently, some in evening wear, few in street clothing, and a lot were in costume. A few of the people seemed to have painted fang marks on their necks, although Sierra couldn't resist thinking that some of those fang marks looked awfully realistic. Almost all of the clothing was black, gray, or red, matching the interior of the bar. Sierra stood out, wearing purple and blue, and found it difficult to refrain from staring all around her with her mouth hanging wide open. She had never been inside a place like this before.

After spotting them, another blonde woman rushed over toward them. She appeared to be someone important, wearing tan slacks and a dark brown top. She held a clipboard and her name-tag read _Pam _in letters that appeared to be dripping blood. Pam, however, didn't seem to be in a very festive mood. She looked harassed. "Kiara, you're late. Again. Really, you've got to stop-"

For some reason she didn't understand, Sierra interrupted her. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Pam. I really am. I distracted Kiara. I saw her walking in and I started talking to her. I'm afraid I have a habit of talking a lot. My bad. Please, blame me, not Kiara." Sierra shut up, shocked at her own actions.

Pam obviously didn't believe her, but thought it was too much effort to call her on it. She rolled her eyes and spoke in a bored voice, "Whatever. Kiara, just get your butt moving and suck up to some patrons. You," she pointed to Sierra, "If you want to stay, I suggest that you go sit in a booth, lie low, and if you see a big blonde guy heading your way, haul ass in the other direction, understood?" Sierra nodded. "Good," Pam said. A few seconds ticked by. "Move!" She said loudly. Kiara gave Sierra a smile that mixed both apology and gratefulness, then she moved off toward the bar. Sierra followed Pams' advice and sat in a booth in the corner. The booths had high tops on the backs of the seats, so that you couldn't see the other people. Sierra lounged back against the wall, kicked her feet up onto the bench, and watched the people in the bar.

* * *

Zane's plane had landed in Shreveport just after sundown. Admittedly, he was a little sad to have to part ways with Sabin and his group, but he was anxious to find his lifemate. He was closer now than he had ever been before, and he was not going to waste his lead this time. Of all of the things you could say about Zane, he was not a man who repeated his mistakes. He, Natalya, and Jordan all split up to use different pay phones in the airport, calling all of the hotels in the area to check for anyone matching Sierra's description. Ever since the incident on the plane, Natalya and Zane had been striving to treat Jordan the same, but it had been difficult. Zane shook himself and began calling.

Fifteen minutes later, they had a match. A woman matching Sierra's description had checked into a hotel and left shortly afterwards, dressed up. Shreveport nightlife was extremely rare, so, after following the advice of the clerk who had been on duty, Zane was going to look in a few local nightclubs, then comb the local bars. Hopefully, they would find Sierra quickly and be able to take her back to Zane's homeland. Sabin had thoughtfully offered the use of his airplane any time that Zane wanted to use it.

After renting yet another car, Zane, Natalya, and Jordan piled in it and began to drive around. Nobody said anything in particular, but Zane could feel that the routine was getting old for all of them. They had to find Sierra soon before all of them went stir-crazy.

* * *

Sierra had reconsidered the merits of a corner booth as soon as she spotted a large blonde man emerging from a doorway which she assumed was an office. Sure, the corner booth was great for watching people without being watched yourself, but it also meant that there was no place to run to when she saw him. The exit door was on the other side of the bar from Sierra, as were the doors for both restrooms. Sierra merely sat scrunched up in the corner of the booth and prayed to not be seen, but she had discovered a small knot-hole in the wood of the divider on the booth. She saw the blonde man stop to ask Pam something. He held up a hand like people do when they're showing someone how tall someone else is. Pam shook her head, and the man stormed off angrily.

However, he had stormed off to where Kiara was standing near the bar. He seemed to be asking her the same thing that he had been asking Pam, and her reaction was the same, shaking her head. Pam walked over to where they were standing, said something that looked like it would be supportive, and pointed toward the office, probably trying to get the man to go back into the office so that Sierra could make a run for it. He seemed to agree, and turned back toward the office. Suddenly, he swung back around, and his eyes locked on the corner booth where Sierra huddled. He raised his face in the air and inhaled deeply. His gaze never shifted. Smoothly, he began to walk toward her table, and Sierra wondered somewhere in the back of her mind if he would find her if she hid under the table, but the rational part of her brain rejected the idea. Obviously, if he had found her from halfway across the bar, he would be able to find her from less than two feet away.

She steeled herself for the coming conversation. There was no way that she could hope to be able to beat him, but she prayed that nobody would literally let him kill her in the middle of a public bar. She took the time to study the man as he approached, hoping that he wouldn't beat her so hard that she wouldn't be able to pick him out of a line-up. His blond hair was longer, slightly shaggy, but not quite reaching to his wide shoulders, perched upon his tall frame. His eyes were blue enough that she could see them from where she sat. Then he was there.

Sierra's first opinion of the man (after the very big part) was that he was good in some way or another. Evidence: instead of looming over her and standing next to the booth, he slid comfortable into the other bench seat. His blue eyes filled with amusement, and Sierra realized that she was still in the fetal position in the corner of the booth. Oh, well. However silly it seemed, she wasn't going to uncurl until she was sure the man wasn't planning on hitting her.

When he spoke, his voice was low and soothing, the sort of voice used to talk people off of ledges. "It is okay. My name is Eric. I am not going to harm you, and I do not wish you to be uncomfortable in my bar. Will you please emerge from your corner?"

Sierra began to uncurl herself from her spot, but the adrenaline rush coming and going had made her stiff. Her legs drifted down to meet the bench on their own, in slow uncontrolled slides. Eric's eyes were still filled with amusement, but they darkened, he closed them and he tilted his head back, seeming to take great joy in whatever he was hearing. "Ah," he said. "That is much better. I can hear the blood rushing through your veins." His eyes opened, and he smiled, flashing long sharp fangs. "It makes me feel full of life once again." He frowned, and breathed in deeply once again. His smile this time was troubled. "And yet, you are out of my reach. You smell of the ownership and possession of a Carpathian's lifemate. You are beyond my bounds." Sierra relaxed, relieved that she was getting out of this mess. "But," he went on, "I still want to talk with you. What is your name?"

"I'm Sierra. And I am _not_a Carpathian's lifemate. I'm actually currently running from a crazy guy who thinks he's some kind of pre-vampire thing." Sierra hated how much her voice sounded like that of a small child, but she couldn't help her stubbornness on this single issue.

Eric laughed quietly. "I just flashed my fangs at you, and you don't believe in vampires or Carpathians? Surely your lifemate has shown you something or another that cannot be explained by modern beliefs."

Sierra shook her head. "I don't know any more. I might even believe in Carpathians, but I don't want to be one's lifemate. This is way too confusing. My life needs a reset button" She dropped her head into her hands and sighed deeply. Eric moved over into her field of vision, sitting on her side of the booth.

He reached out, putting fingers under Sierra's chin and lifting her head easily. "Sierra, your life does not need a reset button. Have you ever considered that having a lifemate could be a wonderful thing? He is your soul-mate, and you are allowed to be together for many years beyond the normal human lifespan. Aren't those things alone worth living for?"

Sierra lifted her chin, removing herself from Eric's grip. "No, that doesn't sound so bad, but Carpathians can never leave it as that. They always have to demand complete surrender. I am way too independent to ever give in to everything someone else dictates about my life. And besides, eternal life isn't much of a draw. I've seen too many people die to want to watch everyone else I know die too." Her gaze snapped to Eric. "Wait a second! You can help me! Change me into a vampire, that way Zane can't have me. I can't turn into a Carpathian if I'm already a vampire, can I?"

Eric looked resigned. "I knew you would think of that eventually; that's why it was so important for me to find you. I can't touch you. By law, if I do anything that would prevent your lifemate from claiming you, I can be put to death. I'm willing to help others to a certain extent - and for a certain price - but I cannot do this for you. I have lived for too long to jeopardize my existence. I am sorry, Sierra."

The rejection burned. She had almost found a way out, almost gotten away with it all, only to see the chance die before her eyes. She swallowed against the lump in her throat, willing herself to not cry, and said calmly, "I understand. If you will please move, I'll leave this bar now."

Eric shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't allow you to do that just yet. For one thing, I don't like the mood you're in. Right now, you might go out to find another vampire that doesn't have my scruples. You must understand, you will be killed if you are changed, along with the person who changed you. For another thing, I have sat here and talked to you for far too long now. There are people - many people - in this bar that want me, and I have turned them down to come over here and talk to you. If I allow you to leave right now, I run the risk of having them find you and harm you, perhaps even kill you."

Sierra scoffed. "I highly doubt that even you are_ that _attractive."

Smiling, Eric said, "I will take that as a challenge." He stood. "Let us see..." His gaze fixed upon a woman across the room. She was gorgeous, with short black hair brushing the edges of her perfectly sculpted jaw, accentuating her high cheekbones. She noticed exactly when Eric began to look at her, and she began preening for his benefit. He continued to stare at her, and crooked his finger in her direction. Gracefully, she walked across the room, meeting Eric where he stood at the booth. He drew her close, not saying a word, and buried a hand in that black hair, stretching her neck over to the side. He leaned down and pressed his fangs against her neck. Sierra could see the small circles where the sharp points were indenting her skin. Abruptly, Eric released her. She stumbled back a step, then asked in a hesitant voice that still managed to be haughty, "What are you doing?"

In a voice many times haughtier than hers, Eric replied, "Proving a point." He then waved her off. After giving an evil glare to Sierra, she complied, returning to her side of the room. Eric sat back down, giving an amused look to Sierra. "See?" he asked proudly.

Sierra rolled her eyes. "Yeah, and you could have made your point in some other way than that. Now I have another enemy, and that woman looks vicious. I hope you've got some kind of plan?"

Eric grinned. "Yes, I have a plan. They'll all leave me alone if they think you've provided some service to me." Sierra gave him a suspicious look. "No, nothing like that. Just follow my lead." He rose up from the booth and held a hand out to Sierra. Doubtfully, she took it, and he led her out to the middle of the dance floor.

As if on cue, a slower-but-still-catchy song began to play. Eric guided Sierra around, moving gracefully over the dance floor. When the end of the song came, Eric placed one hand on Sierra's shoulder and the other in her hair. Smoothly, he extended her neck and placed his mouth over it. Sierra stiffened, but had faith that Eric wouldn't actually bite her. However, her faith in him began to diminish when she felt the tips of his fangs begin to press slowly into her skin. She handled the pressure well for a while, but then she began to squirm slightly and push at Eric's chest. She felt the tip of one of the fangs begin to actually slice into her skin, and struggled in earnest. Unfortunately, Eric overcompensated for her motion and the tip of one fang actually broke past her skin.

There was a single moment of shock, then the taste of real human blood turned Eric animalistic, and he bit into her neck, sucking her blood as quickly as he could swallow the liquid. Sierra beat at his chest, feeling her motions growing slower and weaker as her blood was drained, but she was unable to do anything about it. A pale triangle showed up behind Eric's shoulder, and another one quickly joined it: Kiara and Pam. Kiara tried to convince Eric to let Sierra go, but he was too far gone for words to register. Pam realized this and had brought a glass from the bar. She responded promptly by smashing it into pieces over his head. Eric growled, obviously thinking that she was after his prey. Pam popped open a bottle and waved it under Eric's nose, then led it away. The bottle contained red liquid that sloshed sickeningly as Pam moved it around.

Eric released Sierra's neck and followed the bottle as if mesmerized. Pam quickly led him into the office and handed the bottle to him, then turned and shut the door. When she got back out to where Kiara stood supporting Sierra as she clutched at her neck, Pam hissed, "Bow." The three bowed in all directions at the still-silent bar. The people finally 'figured out' what was going on, and began to applaud and cheer. Sierra and Kiara, both smiling shakily, made their way to the door. Kiara called a taxi and took Sierra to the hotel she was staying at. After they made their way up to Sierra's room, Kiara helped her to dress the wound, assisted her in changing into pajamas, and forced her to drink as much water as she could hold. Then, Sierra was tucked in and Kiara called another taxi to take her back to Fangtasia.

* * *

All of the places they had visited tonight had been a bust. Zane had never seen anything that signified Sierra was ever there, let alone recently. He could almost see the dark circles under Natalya and Jordan's eyes growing before his very eyes, so this place would be their last stop. If Sierra was not here, then they would find a hotel room and resume the search tomorrow. Zane scoffed at the name of the bar as he entered. Fangtasia. It was probably just a bar filled with vampire groupies. However, as soon as he walked in, Zane knew that he had scored a hit. For one thing, he had been right about the vampire groupies: they made up the majority of the crowd, but there were real vampires here and there, scattered randomly among the humans. The second reason that he knew he had the right place was that the scent of Sierra's blood was everywhere. This elated him, because his lifemate had been there recently and he was close to finding her. Much more than that, this infuriated him. Someone had harmed his lifemate, because this scent was not the scent of blood in someone's veins, but the scent of blood that had been exposed to air.

As if on cue, a large male vampire strode out of a doorway that led to an office. The smell of blood - Sierra's blood - increased with every step closer the man came to Zane. Zane stomped up to the man, grabbed him by the shoulder, and propelled him through the door leading outside. The two were going to talk, and it would be better for all involved if no humans could hear this talk. He heard one of the females call, "Eric," but the two men kept moving. Once outside, Zane slammed the man up against a brick wall. "Now listen here you sack of shit, tell me one reason that I should not kill you for harming my lifemate." Zane did not usually swear or use threats, but he was so beyond pissed off that he thought he might explode if he didn't hit something... or someone.

Eric appeared slightly frightened, but quickly hid the emotion behind a mask that did not manage to hide the vampire's sincerity. "Because I am the one who saved Sierra's life not once, but twice. She asked me to change her into a vampire, and I refused, then explained why she couldn't go elsewhere to be turned, since she would then be killed."

Zane could not keep the suspicion out of his voice. "And the other way you saved her life?"

Eric now looked embarrassed. "Well, I was talking to her after I had rejected other females, so they were jealous. Many of them intended to take action against her once she had left Fangtasia. The only way I could prevent them doing so was to make them think that Sierra had provided some service for me..."

After Eric had explained the rest of the story, Zane fought to not smile. "Ah, so it was _your _fault for her almost being attacked, and to prevent the attack, _you_attacked her." Eric opened his mouth to protest, but Zane held up a hand. "It is all right, I understand. Also, I appreciate the effort. You protected my lifemate, although you did receive a meal for the effort. I must ask one more thing of you, however. I need you to tell me where Sierra is staying. It is time for me to end all of this fuss. I must claim her as my lifemate."

Pointing back inside the dark interior of Fangtasia, Eric said, "One of my waitresses escorted Sierra back to her hotel. I myself do not know exactly where it is. You must talk to her yourself."

Zane looked determined. "Take me to her."

_I Do Not Own Characters From:_

The Lord of the Underworld

The Southern Vampire Series

_Thank you, and please watch for Chapter Nineteen, which should be out later today._

_Author's Note: _For those of you who are detail-oriented (bless you guys), this is supposed to take place before vampires 'came out' to society. Therefore, none of the humans know about the vampires, but they still exist, a sort of separate species from Carpathian vampires, thus these ones are not evil... well, not all of them are.


	19. Dark Flight Chapter Nineteen

**Dark Flight Chapter Nineteen**

_Disclaimer: _I do not own the Carpathian Series. I tried to keep this one short, but it ended up being longer than a normal chapter as well. Oh, well. Many thanks to princessoffun, I thought no one liked the story any more, but your reviews alone make this worth it. Anyway, happy Thanksgiving and enjoy!

Zane walked inside Fangtasia for the second time that night. This time, instead of looking around for Eric, he was being led by him, and they were making their way toward a young woman dressed in black with blonde hair. The woman was busy flirting with a man at the bar, but Eric pulled her away. "Kiara, this is Zane, Sierra's lifemate. You remember Sierra, don't you?"

The woman, Kiara, gave Eric an evil glare and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I remember Sierra. Thanks for the confidence in my intelligence. She was only here what, three hours ago? Besides, with the scene the two of you caused, I doubt anyone in here will _not _remember her. But anyway, what about her?"

Zane stepped in front of Eric. "Your boss told me that you escorted Sierra back to her hotel. I need to know where that hotel is."

Kiara looked at him sideways. "Yeah, that's right, I helped Sierra get back to the hotel she's staying at. And, yeah, I could tell you where it is ... But if I tell you, what are you going to do with the information?"

Zane fought to not roll _his _eyes. What did she think he was going to do? "I will use the information to find my lifemate, the woman who belongs to me, and take her with me back to my homeland. I will never again allow her to escape me, and I will be sure to keep her safe for the rest of our existence."

Kiara looked unimpressed. "See, when you say things like that, it doesn't make me want to tell you where Sierra is."

Threateningly, Zane moved closer. "Tell me where she is."

"Are you one of those people who admire loyalty?" This seemed to be an actual question, so Zane answered it.

"Yes. Loyalty is invaluable to me. I do not tolerate unfaithfulness. That is why I must find my lifemate. I do not know where she is, doing what, or with whom." The very thought made Zane see red, but he gritted his teeth and dealt with it.

Kiara shook her head. "The issue isn't Sierra's loyalty to you, or your loyalty to her, but my loyalty to her. I promised that I wouldn't tell you where she is, and I intend to keep that promise, even after she turned me down." Zane gave her a questioning look, and she nodded. "Yup, that's right, I asked her out and she turned me down."

Zane wisely chose not to say anything, but Kiara seemed to be in a rage, and she did not care what he thought. She was ranting, "And I don't care whether she turned me down or not, I am not going to let you capture her and force her to do something that she doesn't want to do! I don't care if you torture me for a million years, I will not tell you anything!"

Eric glanced at Zane sharply, then spoke decisively. "There will be no torturing for information. I promised you when you came here, Kiara, that I wouldn't allow you to be in danger. I told you that I would keep you safe, and I will not go back on that promise. Zane would simply like to ask you for help so that he can find his lifemate. A dangerous enemy of their people is hunting her as well, and Zane needs to find her in order to keep her safe. However, if you choose not to tell us where Sierra is, that is up to you, and we will not be forcing you to tell us. It is your decision." Zane could not decide whether Eric was serious or trying to use reverse psychology on Kiara. By the look on her face, she was trying to figure out the same thing.

"Well," she said slowly, "I don't want to tell you because Sierra didn't want me to, but I don't want her to get hurt." She was puzzling it over, and looked as if she half-wanted one of them to interrupt her. However, both men sensed instinctively that the best thing to do was to stay silent. Sure enough, several seconds later, Kiara said grudgingly, "I don't think I should do this, but if you give me time to change, I'll show you where Sierra is staying.

Zane exchanged a triumphant glance with Eric, and Kiara left to change out of her working clothes. Meanwhile, Zane took out his cell phone and called Natalya and Jordan to brief them on what was about to happen.

* * *

Sierra felt guilty. Kiara had been so sweet to her, even after Sierra had refused to go on a date with her. However, even with blood loss wracking her body and being bone-tired, Sierra couldn't sleep. She couldn't shake the feeling that her security had been breached. She had sat up with a sigh and thought it over, then made up her mind to got to another hotel. She hadn't unpacked yet, so all she had done was to grab her luggage and leave.

Now she sat back in the cab. She hadn't picked a hotel to go to yet, and felt worse than ever. What if Kiara came back to check on her later that night and Sierra wasn't there? Maybe she had better tell Kiara where she had gone. Whipping out her cell phone, Sierra texted Kiara, letting her know that she was going to a different hotel. Almost immediately, Kiara texted back, telling Sierra to get out of there, since Zane and Eric were almost there. Sierra dropped her phone, fumblingly picked it up, and ordered the cab to go to the airport as fast as possible. The driver stomped on the gas, and Sierra texted Kiara, asking where they were. Kiara told her that they were less than five minutes away, then asked where Sierra was going. Sierra flipped her phone shut, feeling even more guilty.

However much she liked the woman as a friend, Kiara had given away Sierra's location once for unknown reasons. How could Sierra know whether she would give it away again? She was nearly ten minutes from the airport now, if she remembered the drive coming from it correctly. Only a few more minutes. She couldn't go to Las Vegas, not now when Zane was virtually right behind her. It was time to employ plan B.

* * *

Kiara spoke, her voice troubled. "S-Sierra texted me. She's not at the hotel anymore, but she won't tell me where she went. I think she's running, since she asked how far away from the hotel we were. Zane, you know her. Where else would she have gone?"

Zane swore and pulled the car into a u-turn. "The airport."

Eric stifled a smile. "Well, you found out at a good time. This road will get us to the airport faster than taking any main road could. Turn now," he instructed. Zane swerved onto a small road, one that was paved. He sped up and everyone in the car braced themselves.

* * *

Sierra arrived at the airport, bought a ticket, and waited impatiently for her flight. She sat in a small waiting area, jiggling her leg up and down and looking around anxiously. A tall pale man with brown hair sat down next to her and smiled. Sierra smiled back, momentarily soothed. The man looked away, and Sierra took the opportunity to study him. His dark brown hair looked even darker in comparison to his complexion, and his eyes were filled with a bright intelligence.

Sierra looked away, studying her cell phone with her leg still bobbing up and down. The man glanced at her leg and back up at her face. "Are you nervous?" She looked at him, confused. "About your flight, I mean. Are you scared of flying?"

"Oh," Sierra said, surely convincing anyone of her genius. "No, it's just... Well, I kind of have a psycho ex-boyfriend coming after me. I need to get out of here as soon as possible." After the words stopped coming out of her mouth, Sierra winced. Why had she told all of that to a perfect stranger? Besides, she didn't really believe that Zane was a normal person any more, but him being a Carpathian was rather hard to explain to the general populace.

However, the man merely nodded understandingly. "My name is Bill, by the way. I do not wish to ask a sensitive question, but have you notified the authorities?"

Sierra sighed hopelessly. "No, this guy is untouchable. I don't think I'm ever going to get rid of him. I just need to get out of here. My name is Sierra, and despite the circumstances, it is lovely to meet you, Bill. Are you traveling somewhere?" It seemed to be a silly question, but you never knew for certain.

Bill shook his head. "I am waiting for someone. She's flying in and should arrive at any moment."

They sat there for an awkward moment or two, but Sierra jumped to her feet as she heard her flight number being called. She quickly said goodbye to Bill and began to walk to the gate. Sierra was soon stopped, however, by a firm hand on her arm. The tingling sensation told her who it was, but Sierra still looked at the hand, followed the arm to the face, and saw that her worst nightmare was holding her arm. Zane had her trapped at last. She closed her eyes for a moment, wishing she was anywhere except for here right now. Maybe if she acted like this was normal, Zane would leave her alone.

"Oh, hello, Zane. It's nice to see you and all, but I have to catch this flight now. I'll see you later." She attempted to jerk her arm out of his grasp, but he merely laughed.

"_Cara, _is this you trying to be ignorant or coy? I cannot believe that you would sink so low." His voice was still amused, even at the end of his statement. His voice dropped down to a husky caress. "Sierra, my lifemate, come with me to the Carpathian Mountains. We will be together forever. I love you, and if you gave me the chance, you could love me too. Will you, _cara_? Please?"

Sierra faltered. This was the Zane that she had dated, the one she had talked to, laughed with. This was _her_ Zane, not the other, demanding Zane. She tore her gaze from his and pulled at her elbow. "No! Let me go. I have to get on the plane now."

Zane's expression hardened. "Fine then. If this is the way you wish to play the game, so be it. Never say that I did not give you a chance." He grasped her other arm, turning Sierra so that she was facing him.

Zane was going to bind her to him. Normally, Carpathians had a slightly shorter version of the binding words for use in stressful situations like this one, but Zane did not want to take any chances. He spoke the words in English, knowing that she would not recognize them in any other language. "You are my lifemate. I claim you as my lifemate. I belong to you. I offer my life to you. I give you my protection. I give you my allegiance. I give you my heart. I give you my soul. I give you my body. I take into my keeping the same that is yours." As he spoke the age-old words, Sierra's expression grew more and more frantic, and she pulled at her arms desperately. Mercilessly, Zane went on. "Your life will be cherished by me for all time. Your life will be place above my own for all time. You are my lifemate." Sierra began shrieking at the top of her lungs for someone to help her, and a guard started their way. Zane continued to speak in the same low, calm voice. " You are bound to me for all eternity. You are _always_ in my care."

All right, so he had fudged the emphasis on 'always', but Zane felt an overwhelming sense of relief that he was finally bound to his lifemate. Sierra would never outrun him now. Out of the corner of his eye, Zane watched Natalya cut off the guard, showing him a false badge proclaiming them to be bounty hunters. He grinned evilly. This was payback for all that Sierra had done to him. He twisted Sierra around in his arms, slapping a handcuff on one of her slim wrists. She pulled away, keeping the other wrist as far away from him as possible.

"Help!" she cried. "Help! This man is trying to kidnap me! He has a false badge! Someone help!" Sierra's other wrist was seized and held close enough for Zane to cuff. Zane nodded deeply, nearly bowing from the neck, thanking Eric without saying anything. Sierra gaped up at Eric. "Traitor!" she screeched. "I told you he was trying to kidnap me and you promised to not help either of us! How could you?" The last was said with heartbreaking despair.

Eric looked guilty. "I apologize, Sierra, but you're in danger. One of Zane's enemies-"

Sierra cut him off. "Yeah, and who told you that? Zane, I bet! Did he even give you a name!"

Zane began to march Sierra toward the door. "Aizel," he said menacingly. "You know him?"

Sierra gave him the hairy eyeball over her shoulder. She went limp for a second, just enough to knock Eric and Zane off balance as they tried to figure out whether or not to catch her. Sierra then ripped her cuffed hands out of Zane's grip, running toward the gate. She was intercepted by a man with blonde hair who smiled winningly at her. "Hey, sweetheart. We've been working a long time to find you." Eric reached Sierra before Zane, and his momentum pushed him into Sierra, forcing him to knock her over. She landed on her face since her hands were still cuffed. A war cry echoed through the airport, and Eric was gone in no time. Sierra looked over to see Eric on the ground with Bill punching him. She would have kept watching, but she was jerked up by the cuffed hands (which seemed to be a handle for anyone who wanted to use it), and turned toward a woman, who smiled. "I don't think I've had the chance to introduce myself. I'm Natalya Dragonseeker/Von Shrieder. How do you do?"

Sierra gaped at the mention of another character from the book series. However, airport security had finally arrived on the scene, surrounding the tussling vampires, the Carpathians, the blonde guy and Sierra. Sierra's lip was split and she could feel a bruise forming on her cheek. This was the one time she was glad she bruised easily. The security guards seemed to like her better than the rest of them. Sierra pretended to sway, as if she was going to faint, but pulled up as she realized that she actually felt light-headed. She almost groaned as she realized that she was still suffering the effects of extreme blood loss from earlier. A security guard offered her a chair, and she gratefully accepted.

The head guard spoke up. "All right, I respect all of this bounty hunter crap, but this is excessive violence in the extreme. I'm going to need to see those badges again." Zane, Natalya, and the blonde man forked over their badges. The man inspected them for a moment, then said, "These are false. I am going to need the keys to this young lady's cuffs." Zane reluctantly handed the officer the keys. The man accepted them and cuffed Zane, Natalya, and Jordan like a professional. He gave a stern look to Bill and Eric. "You two are all right now, correct? Temporary insanity and all of that?"

Both nodded, and guards began to lead the three faux bounty hunters off to be detained. One young officer freed Sierra from her handcuffs and said kindly, "The plane isn't due to leave for another five minutes if you still want to board it, miss. They can give you some ice to put on that cheek."

Sierra thanked him, but she couldn't seem to tear her eyes away from Zane as he was being led away. "Farewell for now, _cara_. We will be together soon, my lifemate. I swear it."

The officer leading Zane away smacked him on the back of the head and pushed him forward. Sierra turned and boarded the plane.

* * *

All three of them were behaving differently in the small detainment cell that looked like a bad prison cell wannabe. Zane merely sat on the bed, a smile breaking out now and then over his face when he thought about the events of the day. Natalya was striding back and forth in front of the bars, swearing softly to herself. Jordan laid flat on the floor. From what Zane could tell, the man was pretending to be dead. It was simply a very Jordan thing to do.

Natalya spun to face Zane, looking him menacingly in the eye. "I know your lifemate is probably a very nice person and that you just swore to protect her with your life and all, but when I find her, I am going to have to do something very unpleasant to make up for this."

Zane looked up. "Does this mean that you do not want to help me hunt her any more?"

"Hell, no! I have to find her now, if only to prove that little detainment doesn't scare me away. And I'm serious about getting even with her." This sounded like a warning, but Zane paid it no heed:

If Natalya wanted revenge against Sierra, she was going to have to wait in line.

_Characters Used In This Chapter From:_

The Southern Vampire Series.

_Thanks for reading!_


	20. Dark Flight Chapter Twenty

**Dark Flight Chapter Twenty**

_Disclaimer: _I do not own the Carpathian Series. I am deeply disturbed that this is chapter twenty and it feels like nothing has happened yet. I think I'm going to bump up the action. Anyway, enjoy, and know that I'm trying to work faster.

Sierra stepped off of the plane, relieved. The first flight had taken her to Georgia, where she boarded another flight to Canada. It had been a pain to get to Toronto, but she suspected that the trip would be worth it in the end. Zane would never think to look for her here, and if he did, it would take a while to back-track the paperwork. That is, after he was released from detainment. She stifled a giggle. That was one of the best moments of her life, except for the fact that she had been wearing handcuffs at the time. The first thing Sierra did when she got to Canada was to check into a hotel, taking back up her old practice of using a false name.

Once she was into the hotel, she unpacked a few of her things, something she hadn't gotten the chance to do at all lately. She was too tired to think while putting things away, which was good, since what Zane had just done blew her mind, and not in a good way. Earlier, she had very seriously considered murdering the man. After a sufficient amount of her things were scattered around the room, Sierra collapsed onto the bed, falling into the first deep, restful sleep she had gotten in what felt like weeks.

* * *

Zane and the others had been released from detainment after a few hours of questioning. They all had responded something about a practical joke from a local college. The security officers had accepted this as a legitimate reason, which caused Zane to wonder what exactly went on normally that would make this all right, but it was not his place to question the methods of a college in a town in which he did not live. However, these thoughts did not distract him from his memory of the last time he had seen Sierra. Just as she had boarded the plane and even as Zane was being taken away, Sierra had turned and blown a kiss at him. It was a mocking gesture, and Zane had interpreted it as such.

Fortunately, since Zane had seen the name on the side of the plane, he knew that Sierra was traveling north, to Georgia. What he did not know was why Sierra would go to Georgia in the first place. She had never seemed to be interested in seeing anything in Georgia. Zane groaned. Sierra was probably using her technique, the same one that had worked so far: going somewhere and leaving there for somewhere else, making it difficult to track her. Zane did not think he could stand to go to the airport, ask around until he heard where Sierra was, then get a flight there.

Suddenly, a thought hit him with the force of a lightning bolt. He had given Sierra that necklace - all right, he had forced it onto her - and he had place a tiny amount of his essence into the jewel. He should be able to track it easily. Unable to believe that he had forgotten this, Zane fought the urge to smack himself in the face. The only excuse that he could think up for himself was that the guilt of tricking his lifemate had overruled his common sense. Besides, in the beginning of this mess, things were not really that bad. It was accepted that Zane would find Sierra eventually, so he had let her gain the edge of time. However, when things got serious, the pressure on him increased so quickly that Zane had completely forgotten about the necklace. He smiled. By now, Sierra would have arrived at whatever destination she was going to. Zane could trace her, and they were already inside an airport. Albeit, they were now banned from flying from here, but a simple cloak in the minds of the humans would soon take care of that.

He told Jordan and Natalya of his plan, then sat down to gather his thoughts and concentrate on finding Sierra. His mind expanded, his strong personal power blanketing the United States. Every Carpathian or human with psychic abilities hit his mind as a small light, brighter or dimmer, depending on the strength of their gift. Sierra, with the necklace, was percieved as a beacon, so easy to find that Zane wanted to smack himself again. Thinking, Zane isolated her location as being in Canada somewhere. Drawing deep upon his previous studies, he reasoned out that she was in an area around Toronto.

Zane stood quickly and motioned Natalya and Jordan over to him. When they had walked back to where Zane was standing impatiently, he said, "I hope all of your information is in order. I have located Sierra. It appears as though we will be on our way to Canada shortly." Jordan stared at him with eyebrows raised and Natalya looked at him quizzically and acted as though she was biting back a few comments having to do with Zane's sanity. Zane shrugged, then ushered the two over toward the ticket counters, and placed a quick cloak over the clerk's mind, masking their appearances.

* * *

When Sierra woke up, she decided that she would go on a walk and explore, even though it was dark outside. She didn't even think of the danger until she was outside. She strode down the sidewalk on autopilot, her mind far too busy. Sierra did not like the suicidal tendencies that had been surfacing in her lately. It hadn't been anything outright, no standing on windowsills or feeling the urge to buy a gun, but she had been less careful than usual. If she didn't know better, Sierra would think she was in mourning. She didn't want to think that it was a side effect of being 'found' as a lifemate, but the symptoms had been getting worse since Zane had actually spoken the words today. In fact, since what Zane had done earlier, he subconscious mind had seemed to be revolting against her.

As evidence, Sierra realized that her internal schedule had even shifted to Carpathian. She was practically nocturnal at this point, for crying out loud! The revelations halted her, as did the realization that Sierra didn't recognize any of her surroundings. She was still on a sidewalk, but she was standing in front of a very upscale apartment building, one that looked as though it belonged somewhere fancy and glamorous, like Beverly Hills was supposed to be. However, she had never been there, so Sierra wouldn't know.

Back to the situation at hand, Sierra had no clue how she had gotten to where she was standing, which meant that she had no idea how to find her way back to the hotel. She sighed, not wanting to call a cab, but realizing that she had to anyway. She began to walk down the sidewalk to where she saw a busy street a few blocks away and wondered to herself if she didn't want to call a cab because of those darn suicidal tendencies. Sierra shrugged to herself and continued walking, striding past the mouth of a narrow alleyway. Hands grasped her shoulders, and she had just enough time to think, _Never mind suicide: I'm going to be murdered._ The truly terrifying part about that revelation was that it was a relief that she would be leaving this world soon.

She was slammed against a brick wall inside the alleyway, and flinched, forcibly reminded of what had happened in the alleyway before Zane had come to rescue her. When her eyes opened the rest of the way, she was almost surprised to not see Damien there in front of her. Instead, a young man stood there, too close for her to see clearly right away. When her eyes focused, she saw that he had longer reddish hair, slightly curly hair which laid delicately on the pale skin of his face. She couldn't tell the color of his eyes because it was so dark, but they didn't matter. Her gaze was fixed upon his mouth. It was hanging open slightly and Sierra could see his front teeth. The incisors and second teeth were extended into an imposing set of double fangs and the man was making a quiet hissing sound.

His enunciation was slightly distorted by the fangs, but Sierra's fear gave her clarity, and she understood him perfectly. In a low voice, he said, "I can smell the wound on your neck. You gave your blood to someone else recently, someone who has convinced you to come here and attempt to seize my territory. It has been an incredibly bad day, and now you will give your blood to me."

His mouth lowered from just being inches away from hers to being pressed against Sierra's neck on the opposite side from Eric's bite. She felt him lick her neck, then his fangs plunged into her skin. Sierra cried out and the man's grip tightened. Sierra's vision began to spot out. This was the second time she had been bitten in less than a day, and she was beginning to be sick of it. Actually, maybe she was just sick, because sitting down suddenly sounded like a wonderful thing. A door slammed open, and running footsteps made their way to where she and the man stood in the alley.

The footsteps stopped, and then a woman's voice rang out, thick with tears. "Henry! Henry, stop! You have to let her go. If you're going to leave, leave, but don't kill an innocent person before you do it. I won't go with you, okay, take it out on me, not on some woman who has nothing to do with us." Sierra's knees buckled, and the man, Henry, held her up, a motion that would be very chivalrous if only he wasn't draining her life away at the same time. The woman cried out, and Henry raised his head. Sierra's blood trailed down his chin from the corners of his mouth. The woman gasped, and Henry allowed Sierra's body to fall against the wall and slide to the ground, only looking at the woman. Sierra was indignant. Henry had just killed her and he couldn't even bother to dispose of her body properly?

When Henry spoke, his voice was rough. "Vicky, I'm leaving. You chose not to go with me. That has nothing to do with this. You told me that you accepted the fact that I have to kill or I will die. This is one of those occasions when I have to kill." He seemed to become slightly more civilized. "Now, you can either leave and let me finish my meal in peace or I will take her somewhere else, but either way, this woman will die tonight."

Vicky took something out of her pocket and whipped her hand toward the ground. There was an odd noise, and Vicky was suddenly holding an asp, which she brandished toward Henry. "I can't let you kill innocent people in my town, Henry. You're going to have to leave sooner than either of us had thought." Sierra didn't know how Vicky managed to sound calm and collected with all of those tears pouring down her face, but she admired the woman.

Henry smirked, then laughed disbelievingly. "I don't believe this. Do you really think that you can challenge me and have any chance of survival?"

Vicky looked serious. "You once told me that everyone is easy to kill, including me. Well, let's do this. I can't let you kill this woman, and you refuse to do anything else. I don't know if I'll survive, but my fear doesn't mean that you can do whatever you want." The tears began to slow, and Vicky sounded even more courageous toward the end of her statement.

Henry took a step toward Vicky, and Sierra would have gasped if she could move any part of her body at all. While Henry had his back turned, a young Goth woman knelt down next to Sierra. "Hi, I'm Corrine. I need you to stay calm. Sweet necklace, by the way." She grinned, but Sierra could see the worry in her eyes. "Can you walk at all?"

Sierra somehow managed to dredge up enough strength from deep inside of her to talk. "I haven't tried, but it's not looking good."

Corrine nodded. "Okay. Here's the deal: we need to get you out of here before Mr. Thirsty gets done with Vicky." Sierra must have looked worried, because Corrine smiled gently. "Don't be scared, Henry would never hurt Vicky. Physically, I mean. Emotionally... now that's a different story. Hey, anyway, I'm going to put my arm around you, under your arms and pull you inside. If you can somehow find the strength to push with your feet every now and then, so much the better. If not, don't feel bad about it."

Somehow, they managed to get into the elevator, then Sierra was feeling recovered enough to walk to the office with Corrine's support. After sitting on the couch, and chugging three glasses of water and two bottles of Gatorade, Sierra fell asleep in the office. Corrine quietly covered her up in a blanket and wedged a pillow under her head.

_Credit for Characters from:_

The Blood Books

Blood Ties (Television Show)

_Disclaimer: _I do not own either of these materials.


	21. Dark Flight Chapter TwentyOne

**Dark Flight Chapter Twenty - One**

_Disclaimer:_ I do not own the Carpathian Series.

Sierra woke to extraordinarily bright sunlight hitting her in the face. She raised her head off of a throw pillow and glanced around the room, trying in vain to figure out where she was. The events of the last night hit her, and her head immediately began to slump downward again. A voice from the doorway quickly made her head pop back up again, though. The woman from last night, Vicky, was leaning against the door.

The pretty blonde woman was wearing a pair of glasses. Her hair was tied up, and she was wearing jeans and a blue shirt beneath a black coat. "Yeah, I've felt like that before. Feel free to sleep for as long as you want, I just want to tell you that there's coffee out here."

Sierra sat there for a moment. She figured that she should be totally out of her comfort zone, but now she was more occupied with whether to pick more sleep or to drink some coffee and call it good. She wanted the sleep, but it was rude and, her brain rationalized, it was good to get as much fluid as possible. Her body complained, but the mention of fluids had reminded Sierra that she really had to pee. She stood up and looked around. Vicky cleared her throat and grinned. "The bathroom is out in the main office, second door on the left." Sierra thanked her and took off to take care of her business.

When she came back out, Corrine gestured over to the couch. "Here, why don't you sit down? I'll get you a cup of coffee." Sierra smiled at her gratefully. As she was handed a steaming mug, Sierra studied Corrine's clothing. A purple and black lace-up old-fashioned bodice was worn over a mesh long sleeved tee shirt. Her black pants had zippers sewn randomly all over them, and her chunky black Goth boots were the stuff of Sierra's dreams. A handcuff bracelet (one black handcuff and one purple handcuff) circled her narrow wrist and a purple and black spider perched on the bare skin of Corrine's collarbone, hanging from a black silk ribbon. Her hair was teased up into a large pile on her head, but some still hung down, brushing her shoulders and back. Her makeup was done in a style that was half Goth and half Emo, perfected with bright red lipstick. It was awesome.

Sierra shook her head admiringly. "Corrine, I love your outfit."

Corrine pressed a hand over her spider. "Thank you! Like I said, I'm totally digging the necklace, but you were pulling on it in your sleep, so I tried to take it off for you. I couldn't find the clasp, though."

Just like that, Sierra's mood was shot. "Yeah, I know," she grumbled. She tugged on the necklace some more, hoping that it would give and come off, but with no luck. The thing stayed locked around her neck, reminding her of Zane's claim to her: all of her. She sighed.

Vicky and Corrine exchanged glances. "Sierra, you also seemed like you were having bad dreams," Corrine said, "And you kept saying the name Zane."

Sierra could feel the troubled look on her face, but she couldn't do anything to prevent it. Vicky spoke, her voice more gentle than Sierra would have given her credit for. "You know, Sierra, we're private detectives. We can help you with your problem, and we're totally discreet. If you are in trouble, I would be glad to help you."

Sierra shook her head. "I'm sorry, but it's not really the kind of thing someone could help me with. Thank you for the offer."

Vicky leaned closer. "Are you sure? We deal with a lot of things that it wouldn't seem like we could help with. Why don't you give us a shot?"

She didn't want to tell them everything, but Sierra knew that Vicky and Corrine would feel guilty if they didn't help her. She gave them a watered-down version of the story. "Well, I have this crazy boyfriend that's trying to find me. He gave me this necklace with a - a sort of tracking device in it. He put it on me, and I have no idea how to get it off. There isn't a clasp and it's not big enough for me to pull over my head. If you could get the necklace off, I would be really grateful. And I would pay you, of course, whatever your normal rates are."

Vicky waved her off. "That's not an option. consider it my payment to you for what happened last night. It was my fault, I should have made sure Henry was okay before he left the building."

Sierra shook her head. "It wasn't your fault, and you saved me."

Obviously trying to avoid the question about payment by changing the subject, Corrine moved closer and studied the necklace. "It's beautiful, but I can understand why you wouldn't want a tracker on you. Do you have any idea what it's made of?"

Shaking her head regretfully, Sierra said, "I'm sorry, but I don't have any idea what it's made of. Do you think you can take it off anyway?" She did her best to not sound too hopeful, but it leaked out between her words.

Corrine nodded. "Yeah, I should definately be able to take it off of you." She studied the necklace for a moment longer. "Hm, that's unusual." Vicky raised her brows at Corrine, and Corrine explained, "This looks like an ordinary, if organic, material. However, when you look at it from an angle, or tilt it slightly, it appears to have a slight red luster." She ubruptly dropped the necklace and grinned, walking over to her seat behind the computer. "I can use that to help me find a way to remove it. Give me... maybe two hours, at most?"

Vicky nodded like this was normal and turned back toward Sierra. "I'll be happy to help you remove this necklace, but I have to ask: Have you given any thought to what you'll be doing with it after it's off? Will you want to throw it away, or just leave it here? If you're still running, you obviously wouldn't take it with you, but it could make an awesome decoy for when you were leaving for somewhere else."

Sierra thought about that for a second. It would distract Zane should the idiot remember that she had been wearing the necklace, and it would appear that she was still in Canada. She laughed and slapped her hands down on her lap. "That would be perfect! If only there were somewhere we could put it so that it looks like I'm moving around. If I'm staying in the exact same place all of the time, it could look suspicious."

Vicky laughed suddenly. "I have the perfect place for it, and it would take your boyfriend forever to find it, let alone retrieve it! I've also got an ex-boyfriend that I don't care for, and he's always driving."

Corrine's head snapped up, and she spoke chidingly. "Vicky! You can't be thinking you're going to put it in Mike's car!"

Vicky nodded happily.

Sierra looked from one woman to the other. "Who's Mike?"

Corrine leaned toward Sierra, who also leaned forward out of instinct. "Mike is a cop. He and Vicky used to have a thing, but when she wouldn't pick him over Henry, Mike dumped her. He's a real idiot, and neither of us can stand him."

Sierra furrowed her brow. "Then why didn't you want her to put the necklace in his car?"

Corrine shrugged. "Habit, I suppose. You should have seen the two of them, Mike and Henry, fight over Vicky. They used to argue all of the time, especially after Mike almost got Henry killed." Sierra gaped and Corrine nodded. "Yeah, I know. Well anyway, Vicky blamed Mike, Mike got pissed off at never being trusted and took it out on Henry. It almost makes me relieved to know that we won't have to be dealing with either of them anymore."

A throat cleared across the room. Vicky glared at them. "You know, I'm still in here, and I can hear everything you're saying. I'm still a little upset over all of that, so if you wouldn't mind..." For the first time, Sierra noticed the lines of strain on either side of Vicky's mouth, the opposite of the slightly puffy red regions under the woman's eyes.

Sierra and Corrine apologized to Vicky, and Corrine got back to work looking up Sierra's necklace.

* * *

Zane felt as though he was ready to shout with frustration. The plane had been found to have mechanical failures, so they had not been able to fly on it. The second plane was also found to have mechanical difficulties. The three had bought tickets for yet another flight, but Zane had been exhausted by the constant mask he had kept up around the humans. Natalya had lent him some of her strength, but she was still a relatively young Carpathian, so Zane had been afraid of taking too much. Jordan had donated blood, but Zane had only been able to take a few mouthfuls before they were interrupted by the approach of a human.

Zane - exhausted from working-, Natalya - exhausted from donating energy -, and Jordan - exhausted from donating blood-, all fell asleep and missed their third flight. Another one had not been scheduled to leave until late in the morning. Zane thought seriously about calling Sabin and asking him to allow Zane to borrow their jet, but the flight really was only hours away. Frustrated, pissed off, and still tired, Zane sat back in his seat between the sleeping Natalya and Jordan. He stretched out his legs and allowed himself to relax, but just then, his cell phone rang.

Swearing, Zane extracted himself from the sleeping pile and pulled his phone from his pocket. "Yes," was his short, crisp greeting, spoken as he strode far enough away from Jordan and Natalya so that they would not be woken by his conversation.

His cousin's voice rang in his ear. "Hello, cousin. I know that it is imperative for you to find your lifemate and bring her back to the homeland, but I must protest the absence of my lifemate." Vikirnoff's voice grew lower, almost ashamed. "I miss my little hellcat, Zane. Have you found Sierra yet?"

Zane swallowed a lump in his throat. Natalya was a large help to him, and he did not want to lose her as a member of his retrieval team, but more than that, he wanted this level of affection between him and his own lifemate. He missed his Sierra, and his arms ached with the need to hold her. He cleared his throat and tore his mind back to Vikirnoff's question. "No, we have not found Sierra yet, but we are close, my cousin. Very close. I can almost feel her. If I can borrow Natalya for just a short time longer-"

"No." The answer was short and very to the point. Zane's shoulder slumped. "I understand," he began, but Vikirnoff interrupted him once again.

"I cannot stand to be without my lifemate any longer, but this situation makes me realize how much I care for my lifemate. I cannot imagine being in your situation. I will come myself and help you track down your lifemate."

The lump rose again in Zane's throat. With the return of his emotions, he realized just how much he cared for everyone around him. "I would be honored should you decided to aid me. I would be extremely grateful."

Vikirnoff spoke again. "I will be wherever you want me to be in an instant or less." His voice softened, became more gentle. "Do not worry, Zane. We will find your lifemate. All will end as it should."

Zane thanked his cousin, and both hung up.

* * *

Corrine shot up from her chair. "I found it! Never say I didn't do anything for you, Sierra. You are going to be grateful to me for forever," she said, and a look of confusion covered her face. "Not that we'll ever meet again. Well, I want to see you again, don't get me wrong, I really think we could be friends-"

Vicky, standing in the corner, said, "Uh, Corrine? Would you like to tell us what you've found that will make Sierra grateful forever?"

Corrine shot Vicky a grateful smile. "Well, the metal used to make this necklace is from the Carpathian mountains. It has certain elements used to make it that an unnatural element should melt right away."

Sierra frowned. "I don't get it. How does that help me? What is an unnatural element and where would I even find one?"

Corrine yanked on a desk drawer and pulled out a small container with a sealed rubber lid. "Right here! ...Just pretend you didn't see this, okay?" Without waiting for an answer, Corrine opened another drawer and pulled out a small velvet bag. From the bag, she took out a small glass stick. Corrine looked up at Sierra. "Why don't you come over here?" Sierra obliged, and when she got over there, Corrine was speaking quietly, perhaps to herself. "First, we'll take the glass wand, then dip it in the container, make sure it's coated, and - darn!" She left the glass wand to sit in the container, and Sierra leaned forward to look inside, but Corrine popped back over with a large metal bowl in her hands. At Sierra's look, she explained, "I don't really know how the necklace will react to the unnatural element, so you might want to get ready."

Reaching across the desk, Corrine grasped the necklace and held it so that there was a small amount of slack. She then picked up the wand, stirred the stuff in the container for another few moments, then raised the wand to press against the chain of the necklace. There was a loud hissing sound, then a _pop_ noise. The necklace dropped down into the bowl, clanking as it hit the bottom.

Shaken, Sierra reached up to hold her neck. "What was that popping sound?"

Corrine looked intrigued. "I don't know, let's check." She gingerly lifted up the necklace by one end. "Wow!" She dropped it. "I don't know where your boyfriend got that necklace, but it was strong. All of that unnatural element that I put on it only removed one link of the chain, when it broke, the power inside of it snapped, which made the noise. Every single link in this chain has that much power." She stared at Sierra. "I don't know who your boyfriend is, but he's not someone I would want to mess with."

Sierra immediately felt guilty, since messing with Zane was almost exactly what she had asked Vicky and Corrine to do. She grasped the necklace and turned toward the door of the office. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

Vicky grabbed her elbow. "That's not what Corrine meant. She was just speaking without thinking about it again." Vicky got something off of a shelf, a flat, matte black case. It was slender, and Vicky placed the necklace in it. "Now, we'll put this in Mike's car and you can get going. I'm not trying to chase you off, but if your boyfriend was connected enough to get soemthing like this," she waved the case with the necklace inside of it, "I think you're in more danger wherever it is."

Sierra had to agree. She decided that she would take a cab back to the hotel while Vicky took care of the necklace. She thanked the two one final time, and left.


	22. Dark Flight Chapter TwentyTwo

**Dark Flight Chapter Twenty-Two**

_Disclaimer: _I do not own the Carpathian Series.

Sierra had gotten to her hotel, glanced longingly at her bed once, managed to avoid it, and began to pack. Her things hadn't had the chance to wander too far, so the process went quickly. Just before Sierra left the hotel room, she got a phone call.

After saying 'hello' warily, Sierra heard a familiar voice, "Sierra?" the voice asked. "Is this you?"

"Yeah," Sierra responded. "If you wouldn't mind, may I ask who this is?"

"Um, no problem, this is Corrine. Really, Sierra, how many people were you expecting to call?" That little rant and the slightly sarcastic question told Sierra that this couldn't possibly be anyone other than Corrine.

After being relieved that she did indeed know this person, Sierra felt her heart skip a beat, and then begin to beat even faster. What if something had gone wrong? What if she had put Vicky or Corrine in trouble somehow by including them in her quest to get away from Zane? Taking a deep breath, Sierra tried to calm herself, but the words poured out in a rush, with no breaks between the frantic inquiries. "Are you guys okay? Did everything go all right? What happened? What's wrong?"

Corrine laughed. "Nothing's wrong. In fact, I'm just calling to tell you that everything went great. The necklace is in Mike's car and ready to go. He's actually been driving around with it in his car for about half an hour now. You are clear to leave any time."

Sierra thanked her, promised to visit again sometime, and hung up. Vicky had been nice enough to loan her car to Sierra. The two had arranged things: Sierra would take the car to the airport, and Vicky would come to pick it up later when the light was a little better. Sierra was curious about that last part, but it was rude to ask questions about people's health. She had simply thanked Vicky sincerely and began the drive to the airport.

* * *

Sierra did not know that Zane was following her. He smirked to himself as he trailed the car she had just gotten into. She was heading in the general direction of the airport. Zane patted himself on the back once again for thinking to check and see if Sierra was in the police car with the necklace in it. She had not been, and he wondered how she had taken the necklace off, but it hardly mattered now. They were on her trail. Yes, 'they' were on her trail. Much as he wished he was alone, Jordan was sitting beside Zane, leaning forward intently. Jordan had become Zane's co-pilot since Vikirnoff had arrived and wanted to ride in the back with Natalya.

Excitably, Jordan pointed to Sierra's car. He began speaking faster and faster, until Zane had to think for a moment to puzzle out what exactly each word was. Jordan was also speaking louder and louder as he spoke. "Stop her, Zane! Crash into her car, that's how the police do it! This whole chase should stop here! Get her, get her!"

Zane sighed. Jordan did not seem to understand that there was a finesse to being Carpathian, a need to do things your own way and not some other way. He would get Sierra, no worries. He would simply wait until she had exited her car at the airport, then calmly walk up and grab her. Since Vikirnoff was here now, he could keep watch over Natalya and Jordan while Zane transported himself and Sierra to his homeland, in whatever way he had to.

A voice in the back of Zane's mind reminded him of the last time he had attempted the whole capture routine, but Zane ignored it. Testing the bounds of his concentration, Zane continued to drive while reaching out to Sierra with his mind. He found her, but she was using the same policy that she had seemed to employ all along: avoiding contact with his mind. Through a small gap in her shields, Zane skimmed off the top of her mind that she knew communication with Zane would cement them closer together, and she certainly did not want that.

Using that chink in her armor, Zane slipped inside, attempting to find out why Sierra did not feel the need to contact him like he felt the need to contact her. He sifted through her mind, holding on to anything having to do with himself. To his shock and pleasure, there were many thoughts about Zane. Some of these thoughts were of hate and fear, but more were of pleasure, sorrow at missing him, and actual consideration of becoming Carpathian.

Zane pushed aside that satisfaction to concentrate on trying to find a specific now: why she did not seem to long for him like most Carpathian lifemates. However, after minutes of searching and processing, Zane still had not found a specific reason. Like most brains, there were no actual decisive realizations, just a general idea. From what Zane could glean from her mind, Sierra thought that perhaps the prolonged time in which they had not seen each other before he marked her had protected Sierra.

Another thought suddenly lay before Zane's eyes. Sierra had been considering the fact that perhaps since she was a Sanguine, she had partial immunity to Zane and the bonds of Carpathian lifematehood. Abruptly, Zane was back inside his own head. Sierra was a Sanguine. He could not believe it. It was no wonder that so many things had gone wrong. He shuddered to think about what could have happened if he had tried to make her fully Carpathian without knowing that information. Sierra could have died, or worse, she could have become a vampire immediately, ravenous and strong, without any speck of control or remorse in general.

There were not many Sanguines left on Earth in modern times. Most had been killed back in the days of witch hunts and informational torture. Sanguines' sharp canine teeth, pale skin, sensitivity to light, and nocturnal habits had made them targets, but the people were all too human. Most did not even realize what was happening, or why they were targets. A small number of their descendants walked the Earth today, unknowing of their dark heritage.

Many supernatural things happened around Sanguines, who bridged the gap between the human and supernatural worlds. Unfortunately, due to being unpredictable, many supernatural things went _wrong_around Sanguines. If Zane had attempted the conversion without taking special measures, Sierra would likely not live long enough to be any type of lifemate to Zane. This did not mean a break for Sierra. The conversion could still be done, but regretfully, it would take longer and cause more pain to Sierra than it would if she were a normal person. This revelation did reveal why Sierra felt no need to touch Zane mind-to-mind. Glancing around, Zane was confused. The dip into Sierra's thoughts had not revealed why she was driving around aimlessly.

* * *

Sierra was incredibly lost. She had been on her way to the airport, doing fine, making great time, but then she had to have turned where she wasn't supposed to or hadn't turned when she _was _supposed to. She drove around, almost in circles, as she tried in vain to locate something that looked familiar to her.

She sighed, then gasped in turn as she saw a sign pointing her toward the airport. Thankfully, she turned onto a section of road with so many turns, it completely confused her. She was turning, turning, then turned once again before she decided that this was ridiculous and that she would simply turn around and look for another indicator of the way to the airport.

After yet another turn, Sierra pulled into a faint trail, maybe a driveway once-upon-a-time, which took her behind a small copse of trees. She heard a car go by, then turned and navigated her way back onto the main road that she had been following.

Soon after that, Sierra noticed a small sign, invisible from the opposite direction, pointing down another road. Sierra followed it obligingly, though the pavement was rather rough. Eventually, the road smoothed out and connected to a main highway. After glancing at the dashboard clock in her small borrowed vehicle, Sierra stomped on the gas pedal. For the first time ever, it looked as though she was going to miss her flight! Dodging traffic and speeding excessively, Sierra arrived at the airport in under ten minutes, but it looked as though she missed her flight anyway. Checking against her watch, Sierra noted sadly that the car clock was six minutes slow.

Sierra walked inside anyway. After relating her tale to the ticket sales clerk, the clerk said sympathetically, "I'm sorry, I know how it feels to miss a flight. However, there's another flight to Las Vegas due to take off in about three hours. Do you want me to book you a seat?"

Puzzling uncharacteristically over the question, Sierra was silent for a few moments. She had already reserved a room in Las Vegas, and she had planned to go there, so she should. On the other hand, her instincts were screaming at her to not follow her own plans, to do something spontaneous, something unexpected. Of course, this was also the same voice that was telling her she should go back to Zane. The Zane thing was ridiculous, but perhaps changing things up a bit wouldn't hurt. Sierra studied the computerized wall behind the clerk. There was a flight leaving for New York City in about forty-five minutes. Sierra had always wanted to see the city, and it was on the other side of the country from Las Vegas. How much more spontaneous could a person get?

Decisively, Sierra plunked some money down on the counter. "No, thanks, but if you could book me a seat on the flight to New York City, I would greatly appreciate it." She gave her best dazzling smile.

the clerk responded accordingly, typing on the small keyboard, then nodding to Sierra. "Yes, you're all good to go. I booked you a seat in first class since you missed your first flight. Have a great flight, and have fun in New York!"

Sierra waved goodbye and went over to the waiting area, and paid homage to the Italian part of her heritage. Like any mobster worth his salt, Sierra picked a seat that was facing the area with the most people. Her back was facing the wall, and she scanned the crowd in one of her new routines: Watch for Zane at all times. A person never knew where he would show up and for what reasons.

* * *

Zane growled to himself as he speared his fingers through his hair. Where had Sierra gone? They had been following her just fine and had just dropped back a small distance to compensate for the isolated area. The next thing any of them knew, their car was turning a corner onto a deserted stretch of road. Zane had punched the gas pedal nearly to the floor in an attempt to catch up to Sierra, but no matter how fast they traveled, Sierra was never in sight. Zane tried multiple times to touch Sierra's mind, but since he was a large distance away, he could not find the gap he had used to get in the first time, and Sierra's mental shields defied being found.

He thought over the scenario again, carefully. They had only lost sight of the other car for a short time, maybe fifteen seconds. Zane growled again, desperately this time. Where the hell could his lifemate have gotten to this time? Jordan spoke up in what was obviously supposed to be a soothing tone. "Maybe, after Sierra couldn't find the airport, she left and went back to her hotel. Maybe we should check there now. Besides, we're running out of gas really quickly."

Zane hated it, but he had to concede Jordan's point. Sitting in the car for an extended period of time attempting to puzzle out where Sierra had gone was not going to help anyone. Also, if the car ran out of gas in this deserted area and they had to push the car, Zane was positive that it would not help his mood at all. He sighed and put the car into drive. They would check at the hotel now, but it was time. With the help of his cousin, his cousin's lifemate, the human that had somehow become a friend, and his own slow-changing attitude, they _would _find Sierra.

Throughout his long existence, Zane had never had much faith when it came to gods and fate and such, but with everything that had happened, he wondered if, perhaps, this mating was not meant to be.

* * *

Characters Used From:

The Blood Books

Blood Ties (Television Show)

_Disclaimer: _I do not own either of these materials.

* * *

Author's Note: Just to tell you guys, Sanguines do exist, they're simply people with sharper canines and the other signs listed. As to supernatural stuff happening around them, who's to say? All right, now to address the other issue: You know by know that I love hearing from you guys, no matter what it is that you have to say. Recently, I have gotten a few reviews with people telling me that my story is getting repetitive. That's all right, I actually agree with you. Partly, it's due to a minor case of writing block, and a large case of bad time management. I'm trying to write despite the writer's block (that wasn't supposed to rhyme), but I know, it's not working. I apologize for my failure.

As you can probably tell, the series is drawing to a close. Unless my Internet connection begins to be stubborn, I will publish the final chapters of _Dark Flight_ by this upcoming Sunday. Just bear with me for a few more days and your torment will end, I promise. Thanks for reading, and I hope you are enjoying the series so far!


	23. Dark Flight Chapter TwentyThree

**Dark Flight Chapter Twenty-Three**

_Disclaimer: _I do not own the Carpathian Series.

_Author's Note: _ I know through comments and messages that quite a few of you were disappointed on how 'Dark Flight' ended. I decided to end the series so abruptly because I had also gotten a number of messages on how boring my story was getting, but here's the thing: Both of these are true. The story was dragging on, but the way I ended it was really bad. So, I decided to go back and re-write the ending, maybe adding a few chapters. That didn't happen. The idea I had for a re-write is forcing me to write a lot more, so those of you who are sick of this story should just leave now. For the rest of you, I won't be sticking to my previous schedule of updating every other day because I need time to work on these new chapters and to go back and change things as I go. However, I just wanted to let you guys know what's up and to keep an eye out. Now, on with the chapter. This will be extremely similar to how it was before, but the ending is changed. WARNING: this is a really, _really _long chapter. Thanks!

Sierra had been settled in her hotel room for a few days at this point. The room was beginning to feel like home, and she now had enough energy to go sightseeing… During the day! Sierra saw the Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero, and several other places she had always wanted to see, but had never been able to find the time. However, Sierra had noticed a new and disturbing trend. Just after Zane had tied them together as lifemates, Sierra hadn't felt the slightest urge to reach for Zane's mind. A day or two later, she had a slight urge to brush his mind. Nowadays, it was all she could do to prevent herself from searching for him.

Several times a day, her mind expanded in all directions, searching desperately for its other part. Sierra had to quickly stuff her mind back inside of her head and take off for the nearest area that she could be alone in. She hadn't lost control to the point that she couldn't stop herself from reaching for Zane – yet. It was coming soon, however. Every time she stopped herself from trying to touch his mind, she would soon after explode into frustrated tears that quickly turned into complete meltdowns. Mentally, Sierra knew that it was merely the old Carpathian thing where the lifemate thought their other half was dead, mortally wounded, or otherwise dying, but her emotional self refused to acknowledge the fact. Instead, she sobbed as though her heart was breaking for longer amounts of time after each occurrence.

Since random shows of emotion were not smiled upon in New York City, Sierra would stay in whatever spot she could find that had a decent amount of privacy until she had stifled the sobs. As a result, Sierra walked around the majority of the time with red, swollen eyes and a nose that ran, along with the strange hiccup-like breathing sounds a person gets after a really deep crying session.

Sierra was used to being an emotional rock, never out of control, and _especially _never out of control in public. The resulting combination of grief, embarrassment, confusion, fear, and anger made her cry all the more. The majority of the anger came from the fact that Sierra was losing herself. The conversion into Carpathianhood was making her into a different person. In moments of strange clarity before she fell asleep, Sierra accepted the fact that maybe this was who she really was, and being changed was merely bringing the real Sierra to the from. OF course, this made her all the more angry.

However, all of this isn't to say that Sierra wasn't having a good time. No, she was having a wonderful time, and had several times thought that if she couldn't return to her home, she would like to settle down and live in New York. The diversity of the people amazed her. Sierra had never been exposed to so many people from so many different areas all around the world before! Besides, the people-watching was better than anywhere else. Sierra had begun to bring groceries to her hotel room so that she could make meals for herself instead of eating fast food all of the time.

This past afternoon, she had walking past a row of stores on her way back with a bag of groceries, and she had seen two young men arguing jokingly, obviously a couple. One had been dressed up in Gothic-meets-Tinkerbell style, all black clothes, spiked hair, and body glitter. The other one had been wearing very neutral clothes, dark and baggy, but not black and gangster-style. The clothes had been designed to help the boy blend in, but his boyfriend didn't seem inclined to help him out.

They were in front of a window display. The sparkly one was looking in the window as the neutral one tried in vain to pull him away. Mr. Sparkles and Spikes said, "But Alec, that shirt would look _so_ cute on you! We have to get it. I'll buy it, just give me a second!"

Curiously, Sierra looked at the shirt in question as she approached. It was actually two shirts. One was a tight fitting, long-sleeved black shirt made of a shiny material that was worn with a neon green mesh shirt worn over it. The Goth-ish one moved toward the door of the store, but the one named Alec pulled him back, grasping his shoulder. "Magnus, I don't need another shirt, really! Besides, I still owe you for the last shirt you bought me. You know, the one that said…" He whispered in Magnus' ear, his face bright red.

Magnus let out an evil chuckle that was somehow still innocent and filled with a childish glee. "Oh, yes. _That _one." He cast a wistful glance at the window display. "Still, you would just be so adorable in that-" He walked toward the door again, but Alec grasped his wrist and spun Magnus toward him. The two shared a passionate kiss, and Sierra fought the urge to let out an immature _aww_ sound, but then an asshole on the other side of the street shouted, "You're going to hell, you stupid fags!"

Sierra wasn't quite sure how it happened, but Magnus twitched a finger in the man's direction and the man walked directly into a parking meter… that had somehow jumped two feet from the curb, directly into the man's path. Sierra did her best to choke back a laugh, but a small giggle escaped just before she walked past the couple. The two broke apart long enough for Alec to give her a slight smile and for Magnus to wink, then they were back in each other's arms. Sierra finished the walk to the hotel with a grin on her face, thinking of the sweetness of the scene she had just witnessed.

She had just gotten into her room and set down the groceries when the grin quickly faded as Sierra felt her mind expanding. She tried to stop hit, but she might as well have been trying to stop her heart from beating. A moment later, she felt a slight '_pop_', and she was staring out of Zane's eyes at a young man with blonde hair.

She heard Zane's voice. "Jordan, I want to know where Sierra is now! We should never have brought you along on this trip!" Sierra could see the man flinch. Zane sighed. "Forgive me, Jordan, I apologize. I did not mean to say that. You have been more help to us than you will ever realize. I will have to put in more effort of my own to find Sierra. Why do you not take a break for a few minutes? I can feel your hunger."

Jordan placed a hand to his stomach and grinned at Zane. "I'm sorry. When I'm around you guys, sometimes it's hard to remember to eat. I forgive you for what you said, and I'm sorry too." At Zane's questioning glance, his smiled turned to a grin as he said, "Yeah, I know that you say things you don't mean when you're crabby."

Zane's lips tugged upward slightly. "Little imp," he said fondly. "Take a break, and do not test me. I am extra dangerous when I am 'crabby'."

Jordan grinned wider and he saluted, turning on his heel to march over to the couch before flopping down on it. Zane rolled his eyes, but watched a while longer. As soon as Jordan's eyes drifted closed, he pulled something out of his pocket. Zane opened the thing slowly, unfolding it reverently. When she could see it, Sierra's heart lurched. It was one of her favorite photographs of the two of them. It had been taken shortly before Zane had told her that he was a Carpathian. They were sitting on a blanket, cuddled together. They had gone to a park nearby just after dusk to watch fireflies. The air had been warm, a slight breeze wafting by them. A woman had walked by, seen them, walked back, and snapped a picture. It was a camera that prints out pictures immediately, and she handed them their fresh picture. They had both been astonished, but had thanked the woman sincerely. Sierra hadn't seen that picture in a while, and presumed that it had gotten misplaced somewhere.

Zane gently passed his thumb over her face in the picture, and she snapped back into her own body. Her mind cried out at the sudden and cruel loss of contact with Zane, and Sierra barely made it to the bathroom before she burst into sobs, ones worse than ever before.

After an hour and a half of tears, Sierra went out to sit on her bed, still dabbing at her face. She needed to go somewhere, to do something to distract herself. Since the evening was just cool enough, she decided to go for a walk, perhaps around the block and back. When she got outside, Sierra became distracted and ended up walking three blocks. She turned and began walking back the same way she had come, trying desperately to forget about her experiences in Canada.

Sierra could see her hotel, but she had unknowingly walked through a construction zone. The sidewalk was under construction, and she had to walk past thirteen alleys on her trip. She swallowed her nervousness and began to walk briskly.

Everything was fine until she walked past the final alleyway. For a reason she couldn't fully explain, Sierra stopped and looked down the alley just as a figure straightened up and walked toward her slowly. Sierra tried to run, but her legs refused to move. The figure walked to the mouth of the alley, paused, then strode dramatically into the light. "Hello, Sierra, my prey."

Sierra stifled a scream as she saw Damien – now a vampire – stepping toward her.

Zane was extremely frustrated. Their research had brought the group to New York City, but no further information about Sierra's whereabouts could be found. Suddenly, Zane stiffened as Sierra's fear sang through their bond. "Something is wrong!" Zane shouted, making the others jump. "We have to find her!" The phone pealed, making everyone jump again, then go back to working.

Zane picked up the phone. "Yes?" he curtly inquired.

"Zane, do not hang up the phone. I know where your lifemate is." It was Aizel Dragonseeker.

Zane's upper lip curled. "You son of a bitch! What are you doing to her?" He snarled other assorted insults into the phone as the others swore behind him.

Aizel spoke in a low, soothing tone of voice that merely served to further irritate Zane. "I am not the one who has her."

Zane fought to not threaten the other man again. "Just tell me where she is!"

Aizel said, "A contact of mine in New York City, Bane, called and told me that a girl matching Sierra's description is being attacked by a vampire in an alleyway." Aizel rattled off an address.

Zane had to pause for a moment. Why was his enemy helping him? "I thank you for the information, but I still must kill you. You are still a vampire."

Aizel laughed tonelessly. "I do not know what I am. I thought that I was a vampire, but… I have found my lifemate. I feel, and I can see colors. But that is of no consequence. Go and find Sierra, Zane."

Both Carpathians hung up at the same time.

It was time.

Sierra knew she was going to die. It had only been a matter of time from the very beginning, and now her life could likely be measured in a handful of minutes. There was no hope, not now. Sierra's legs were too injured for her to get away, even if Damien wouldn't have been able to easily catch her with his vampire speed. Sierra lay sprawled on the ground while Damien tortured her, taunting her with her own helplessness and the memories of their relationship. Damien had been torturing her for a while now, throwing her against walls, slicing her skin all over, hitting her, kicking her, burning her with matches, and so on. She had earlier been curled up, but she lacked even the energy to do that now. True to vampire form, Damien was making his last proud speech before he killed her.

"So you see," he was saying, "you could have prevented all of this if you had just agreed to have sex with me. We would have stayed home that night, this Zane guy would have never seen you, and you would have been safe with me. We might even have been married by now. Instead, you chose your path, I chose my path, and here we are. I'm going to kill you now. I'm going to slit your wrists, and your throat. As you're bleeding out, I will bathe in your blood…" He went on, getting more into his dialogue as he spoke.

Sierra would have liked to roll her eyes and say something sarcastic or witty, but she was scared completely speechless. She couldn't believe that after all of this, all of the fighting, all of the struggling, all of the running, and she was going to die for not having sex with one of her exes.

Damien grasped her wrists and dragged her upright, pinning her against the wall with the weight of his body. "And do you know what the best part of all of this is?" He hissed, fetid breath coming in short bursts against her face. "The best part is, the man who you ran from this whole time was the only one who could have saved you from this. From me. But where is he now? Nowhere around here. You know why? Because. He. Doesn't. Care." Damien threw his head back and laughed.

With her last ounce of strength, Sierra lifter up her bleeding and burnt arm, stiffened three fingers into a point, and jabbed them into Damien's trachea as forcefully as she could, which was very forceful indeed. Damien released her as he gagged and bent over. Sierra braced her fingertips against the wall and tried to balance on her unsteady legs. Damien rose up in front of her, eyes murderous. In one smooth motion, he grasped Sierra by the throat and threw her to the ground.

Once she was lying on the dirty pavement, he knelt down next to her and reached for the button of his pants. "For that move, you got yourself a little extra. I'm going to have you just like he did." Sierra must have gotten a look on her face, because Damien's eyes widened in fiendish delight. "He never had you either? Well, there's probably a reason for that, too." He leaned closer once again. "I bet he's glad you're a stingy little bitch. I bet he's glad, because I'll bet he didn't want you either." The absolute glee on Damien's face was horrible to behold.

A voice hissed from the mouth of the alley, deep and pure. "Attention, Damien the vampire. You have something that belongs to me, and I am here to collect." If Sierra had the energy, she would have rolled her eyes. Even now, she was only another object. The voice went on, "If you give Sierra to me willingly, I will make your death an easy one. Otherwise, I will extend your pain. However, you are going to die tonight, Damien."

Damien's eyes widened again, this time in horror, just before he turned around.

The contents of the alleyway filled Zane with an unspeakable horror. Damien turned to face Zane, who was ready to fulfill his threat to the newly turned vampire, until his eyes caught on Sierra. She had cuts all over her body, and some exposed skin was already beginning to bruise. An angry-looking burn peeked out from the edge of her collar. Zane lost all vision and awareness. Before he knew what he was doing, he had grasped either side of Damien's head and snapped his neck. Obviously, this would not kill a vampire, but it was enough to distract him. Before the new vampire could grasp what was happening, Zane had ripped out his heart, called down lightning, and thoroughly destroyed Damien, once and for all. Zane cleansed himself in the lightning, and then turned to see Sierra backing away from him.

His heart died a little. He had saved her life, and still Sierra did not want to be his lifemate? With his mouth pressed into a grim line, Zane strode forward and picked up Sierra. Almost immediately, she passed out, but he took no notice as he whisked them out of the area.

_Author's Note (Again): _Okay, there it is. I hope I combined anything you liked from the first version. In any case, I'm sorry that it was so long and for any typos you found. I don't know when I'll publish the next chapter, but I'll tell you this: it's intense. Feel free to review, or just click on that next story you're reading.


	24. Dark Flight Chapter TwentyFour

Dark Flight Chapter Twenty-Four

_Disclaimer:_I do not own the Carpathian Series.

_Author__'__s__Note:_Sorry it took me so long to publish this chapter, but I'm still not completely happy with it. Big thanks to SakuraGekkaniManjitomoe, you really encouraged me!

When Sierra opened her eyes, she was lying on a bed in a room she recognized after a mere moment. She was in Zane's house. She had been here many times, and the room didn't frighten her. The situation did. Sierra tried to slowly close her eyes, unknowing if Zane was anywhere in the room. Moving as stealthily as she could manage, she moved her limbs, checking to see if she was bound. Everything could move.

Sierra tried to sink back into her pillow, to look as though she was still unaware, but a slight rustling sound nearby made her sit up with a gasp. As she was cursing herself, Sierra's eyes met with Zane's. Her eyes were filled with fear and (much as would deny it) a touch of longing. His eyes spoke of a deep sadness. Those sad eyes trailed slowly toward Sierra's ankle, and her eyes followed his. She gasped. Her ankle, peeking out from under the button-down skirt she wore, was manacled to the bed.

Though she knew her strength was nothing to match the steel cuff, Sierra couldn't help but pull at the binding. The fear and longing drained from her gaze, leaving only anger. "Zane, take this thing off of my leg right now." Her voice was low, and surprisingly calm.

Zane shook his head. "I cannot, Sierra. I cannot bear the pain of losing you again. I know I am not the ideal mate of any person, but I cannot allow you to leave this place."

She waited for him to qualify the last statement, to say, 'until you accept me' or something, but he merely remained quiet. Voice still low, Sierra asked, "How do you expect me to grow to care for you when you keep me chained up like a dog?"

Looking down, he replied, "That hope for our relationship has died. This is simply the way things must be." As Sierra gaped, Zane moved to the door. "I will leave you alone with your thoughts." He stepped out of the room as she listened, disbelieving, to his footsteps dying softly away.

She spoke out loud, knowing that the sound of a voice would comfort her while organizing her thoughts. "Okay, Sierra, he doesn't really mean he'll keep you here forever. He can't. It's just not possible. He would have to bring food and water, and what about a toilet? After he gets over his temper tantrum, he'll let me leave. He has to."

Sierra felt a sudden surge of hope as she saw a door that hadn't been in the room the last time she was in it. Leaping up, she tried the doorknob. It was unlocked and the door opened silently. Her heart sank as she realized that the room was a small bathroom. Glancing at the chain on her leg, Sierra walked into the bathroom. After a few minutes of experimentation, she found that the chain was long enough for her to use the toilet and get in the shower.

A moment after that, the impact of the discovery hit her, and tears streamed down her face. Zane really did plan on keeping her here, forever. He could get to her any time he wanted, and there was no way for her to escape him. The bathroom door didn't even lock. Technically, he could begin the conversion process any time he wished, and she could change, right in this room, to a Carpathian. He could bring her blood and everything. It was a well thought-out plan, and Sierra would have appreciated the genius if it meant she wouldn't be a prisoner for the next seven, eight, nine hundred years.

Numbly, she stumbled back into the bedroom and crawled onto the bed. She sat in the middle of it, staring at a blank wall, not even feeling the tears still pouring from her eyes.

Zane shut the door behind him, allowing his hand to rest softly on the door for half of a second before he gathered the strength to turn and walk away. It broke his heart to see Sierra so frightened, but that same heart was still recovering from the stress of almost losing her. Damien's face still leered at him from behind his eyelids every time he began to close them. Much as it hurt Sierra to stay in that room, he could not bear to sacrifice her happiness for her well-being.

He trudged up the stairs slowly and flopped into a chair once he had arrived in the living room. Zane had arrived home with Sierra nearly two days ago. He had briefly examined her to ensure that she wasn't permanently injured, but she had regained consciousness for a moment before falling asleep again. Though she would never admit it, the last few months had been hard on Sierra. Zane could sympathize with that.

His eyes shifted over lazily as a stream of mist floated from under the door. It solidified in the living room, transforming to form Vikirnoff and Nicolae, both standing with their arms folded over their chests. Zane gazed at them for a moment, and then sighed. "If you are here to talk me out of my method for Sierra…"

Vikirnoff shook his head. Nicolae said, "No, we agree with you. Sierra has shown time and time again that she is all-too-willing to run. She knows of our species. We cannot allow her to freely roam the world. We merely came to ensure that you would not falter the moment she woke up."

Both were looking at Zane expectantly. He furrowed his brow. "How did you know that Sierra had woken up?"

The brothers glanced at each other, and Vikirnoff spoke softly, "We felt your anguish, cousin."

Zane's shoulders slumped. "It is true, I do not like this course of action, but I do not see any other options. I cannot have Sierra out where I cannot protect her, especially if she were to run again. No, she will merely have to grow used to her rooms." He narrowed his eyes. "Will your lifemates not have problems with this situation?"

For the first time since Zane had known him, Vikirnoff looked nervous. "No matter how unhappy Natalya is from being arrested, she will not like you keeping Sierra a prisoner. I do not know what we are to do about that, but for now, Nicolae and I are telling our lifemates that Sierra is still growing used to being in your presence. Might I suggest a small improvement in your plan?" Zane nodded, nearly imperceptibly. "You might consider taking Sierra to our homeland. If you explained the situation to the prince – and not to Raven – he would ask the warriors to keep an eye out for her, in case she should escape again."

It was a good suggestion, and one which made sense, but all this talk of 'escaping' was making Zane even guiltier. He waved the conversation aside, saying, "I will consider it." He slumped down even farther in his chair. Before he could halt the words, Zane said mournfully, "She is not happy. I cannot make her happy." He winced at the plaintive tone in his voice, but he spoke the truth. He had failed as a lifemate.

Nicolae knelt next to him. "My cousin, you have to deal with one of the most difficult situations with a lifemate that I have ever heard of. I know that both you and your lifemate are suffering, but she has left you with no other recourse."

Vikirnoff, still standing across the room, said, "There is another option, but it is by no means guaranteed to work. Zane could convert Sierra. Her dependency on him would then be complete, and since the same blood would truly flow in their veins, it would be even harder for Sierra to run away again, should she gain the chance."

Zane could not prevent his mouth from falling open like an imbecile's. "Do you mean to suggest that I convert Sierra… against her will?"

Vikirnoff nodded coldly. "I have said this before and I will say it again: the Carpathian race needs every couple we have. If you must, convert her and take her to the homeland. There, she can walk freely, but she will be always surrounded by warriors. Ultimately, the choice must be yours, but I cannot predict nor control the reaction of my lifemate when she discovers Sierra's whereabouts."

Nicolae clapped Zane on the back, and both of his cousins left the room in the same way they had entered. Zane sat alone, once again, in the living room, slumped in a chair. His mind was whirring, weighing problems and sides to his options, always uppermost in his thoughts was what would be best for both he and Sierra.

Sierra was still on the bed, still crying, and still staring at the wall. Her blank mind vaguely registered the noise of Zane's feet as he walked down the stairs. Down the hallway. Paused at her door. She didn't bother to turn around as the door opened and Zane walked in. The room was oddly shaped, and her chain wouldn't reach the door: She had already tried. There was no obvious escape route, but in the back of her mind, other escape options were being formulated.

Suddenly, her body was disconnected from her mind. She lost control of her limbs, and she could only watch as her body turned to face Zane. He was standing at the foot of the bed, and she scooted down to meet him. All the while, a strand of thoughts were easing their way into her mind, calming her, convincing her to be unafraid, to let this happen, to want this.

Sierra fought Zane's mind-control with everything she had, and managed to resist. Finally, the command came to sleep, and the eyelids drooped, but Sierra remained aware as Zane moved to her neck and bit deep. She would have moaned in ecstasy, but she wasn't in control of any part of herself, not even her vocal cords. After what felt like hours, the trial seemed to be coming to an end. However, there was still another, crucial element left undone.

Zane's fingernail grew to a sharp spear, and Sierra feared he would slit her throat, but the nail met instead with his own wrist. The gash was deep, and blood flowed freely. She tried to gasp with alarm as the wrist was pressed to her mouth, but Zane still had power over her. Against every command she gave herself, her throat swallowed the warm blood. Slowly, the flow of blood became less and less as the wound healed.

Zane removed his wrist from her mouth, licked the wound, and set Sierra back on the bed, tucking her in carefully. He strode to the door and flicked off the lights, giving her a soft command to sleep deeply for the rest of the night before softly shutting the door.


	25. Dark Flight Chapter TwentyFive

**Dark Flight Chapter Twenty-Five**

_Disclaimer: _I do not own the Carpathian Series.

Sierra woke naturally the next morning, blinking slowly to fully waken herself. The ceiling looked wide and uninviting, jogging her memory of where she was, why, and what had happened just before she had been forced to sleep last night. Slowly, unwillingly, Sierra's hand crept up to her neck. Sure enough, her fingers encountered a small set of bumps from Zane.

_No_, she told herself. _Don__'__t __be __afraid __to __say __it: __those __marks __are __where __Zane __ripped __your __neck __open __with __his __teeth __so __that __he __could __drink __your __blood._ Then she remembered the other part of her evening. The same fingers went to her mouth, touching the lips which had taken Zane's blood in return. It had been much worse than a simple feeding: it had been a blood exchange.

Sierra tried desperately to calm her racing heart. _It__'__s __all __right, __Sierra. __It__'__s __only __one __exchange. __If __you __can __keep __him __from __doing __another __one, __and __another __one __after __that, __you__'__ll __stay __human._

But she didn't have a choice, did she? Sierra was trapped here, in these rooms, waiting for Zane to leisurely decide to feed on her or turn her into a Carpathian. She was completely at his mercy, and could do nothing to stop him. Nothing at all.

In need of a way to feel normal, Sierra decided to take a shower. She got up and went into the bathroom, then adjusted the temperature of the water until it was right, basking in the normalcy the entire time. She was fine until she went to shampoo her hair, when she thought that it would have been nice to listen to her music while she bathed. A tear leaked from Sierra's eye and trailed down her cheek. She managed to shove the emotions aside until turned to wash the suds from her hair and her ankle chain chimed. Her sadness and desperation rose up to consume her and she dropped to the floor of the shower.

* * *

Zane had been upstairs, making food for Sierra when he heard the sound of someone falling coming from downstairs. As he flew down the stairs, he cursed himself. Why had he taken Sierra's blood? Why had he left her alone for so long this morning? She was likely weak from the blood loss and had fallen in the bathroom.

Zane burst into the bedroom, and then sprinted to the bathroom, not bothering to knock on the door. He took in the room in a glance, seeing Sierra curled up in the corner of the bathtub. Zane hurriedly slid the glass door open, but stopped when Sierra's eyes opened to glare malevolently up at him. Forgetting all Carpathian pride and bravery, he flung the door shut and stepped back, but it was too late.

Through the frosted glass, he watched Sierra stand up and open the door, still glaring at him. Zane winced slightly and drew back further, laying his hand on the doorknob. "Get your hand off of that doorknob," hissed Sierra. Her voice was a whip, lashing out at him, slicing at his skin with deadly precision.

"Do you really think that you can keep me in a room like a dirty secret and then use me as a blood supply whenever you want? Do you think that you can cause me all this pain and walk away whenever you want? Hell, no. You will let me out of this room, you _bastard_." Sierra's gaze was steady throughout her speech, water streaming from her unclothed body. Her voice was unembarrassed and her silence spoke clearly that she expected an answer.

Zane forced himself to straighten up and step toward her. "Sierra, we have gone over this. I cannot allow you to wander freely where I cannot truly protect you. I cann-"

Sierra slammed a hand on the wall, interrupting his words. "Do you hear yourself? You, you, you. Do you want to know something about you? _You_ promised to take care of me and put _my_ happiness above your own. Can you take care of me? Yes, you can. Can you protect me perfectly at all times? No, but that's not necessary. Have you forgotten that I took care of myself all of the time I was running from you? Don't make me do something that I don't want to do."

Zane's voice became flat. "Reminding me of your running is not the way to make me understand your side of things, Sierra. And what is this thing that I will be forcing you to do? As you have pointed out, you can do nothing in this situation."

Sierra's voice, in return, grew lower and more menacing. "At some point in time, you're going to leave something in this room that can be turned into a weapon." She laughed derisively. "Hell, there are things in here right now. Understand this, Zane Von Shrieder; I _will__not_ be a prisoner. I will find a way to end things if I'm forced to."

This statement caused such a surge of emotion that Zane took another step toward Sierra, bringing him within touching distance. Sierra drew back slightly, and for the first time, Zane saw the knowledge of her lack of clothing hit her. Still, he reached out and grasped her shoulders, bringing his face down to hers. "You may end things here in this life, Sierra, but you will never be rid of me. We will journey to the next world together and I will find you there as well. You are my lifemate, and I will not allow you to leave me."

Sierra's eyes were too wide, her breaths coming too quickly and too shallowly. Seeing that he was not going to achieve a response in this way, Zane spoke again. "However, I concede your points from this conversation, and I will consider removing you from this place. I need you to promise me that you will not harm yourself in any way until I can fully think things over. Is this a deal?"

Shockingly, anger flashed in Sierra's eyes. "No, it is certainly not a deal. I don't need you to concede my points; I know that what I've said is the truth, and there is no considering that you have to do. We are partners in this relationship. You call me your lifemate? Maybe you should think about giving me a chance to decide what I want."

Zane laughed and let go of her shoulder. Adopting a carefree tone, he said, "Honey, I do not believe that you even know what you want." With that, he turned and left the room to finish making Sierra's breakfast.

Sierra stared at the door, releasing in a rush the breath she had been holding for the last few moments of the conversation. Zane had simply dismissed her, saying that she didn't know what she wanted? She didn't, but it wasn't for him to say that. Throughout their relationship, he had never, not once, asked her what she wanted.

Some of the steam in the bathroom had disappeared with Zane, and Sierra caught sight of herself in the bathroom mirror. She made a sound, something that was half gasp and half laugh. Through all of the emotional turmoil, she had completely forgotten that she was previously in the shower. Sierra had yelled at Zane, having the most serious discussion throughout their entire relationship, while completely naked.

Awesome.

Sierra finished her shower, not happy, but feeling just a tad lighter than she had been feeling before. She felt as though she was doing something, but in the back of her mind, the thought remained that all she could do was sit in these rooms and wait for Zane to decide how she would spend the rest of her life.

* * *

Upstairs, Zane slumped down in the same chair and buried his face in his hands, sighing. What was he going to do? Every second that he knew Sierra was safe was like heaven to him, but she was not happy. She had threatened to take her own life. The very mention of this had caused him pain more extreme than had been caused by any vampire.

Also, Sierra _had _made a good point, and however much he tried, Zane could not come up with an argument. He had taken Sierra her breakfast a short time after leaving her. Zane had tried to leave the tray at the door, but had been stopped by the sound of a throat being cleared sharply. Sierra was standing in the bathroom brushing her damp hair. She had not even looked in his direction, but had said, "I can't reach that if you leave it there. For some weird reason, my _shackle _won't allow me to get within three feet of the door."

He had immediately felt even worse than before, and quickly walked in to deposit the tray on her bed before turning and leaving just as rapidly. A few hours later, he had returned to give her lunch and to take the breakfast tray. He put the lunch on her bed and grabbed the breakfast tray, but stopped when he realized that something on the tray was missing. He had given Sierra a knife to spread jam on her toast, but the knife was missing.

Zane had shot Sierra a suspicious look and she had laughed before tossing him the knife. With a shrug, she said, "I'm just getting ready." He had not found the statement to be amusing, but he got the strange feeling that it had not been meant to be funny. Now, he was up here thinking, trying in vain to find a solution to their problem. Sierra had come up with a solution, but if there was any other option, he wanted to find and seriously consider it. He was beginning to think that there was not another, easier solution. It was now growing dark, and it would be time to bring Sierra something to eat for dinner. He disliked going in the room now. Zane's hearing was, unbelievably, even more acute lately, waiting to hear a sound that would indicate Sierra attempting suicide. He did not want to leave the house tonight for that same reason, but he had to feed if he did not want to attack his lifemate for the sole reason that he could not help himself.

_Author's Note:_

_Sorry for updating so late. There are a few keys on my keyboard that aren't working and it's really hard to type on it. I'll update as soon as I can. Sorry once again. For those readers in the U.S., Happy Thanksgiving!_


	26. Dark Flight Chapter TwentySix

**Dark Flight Chapter Twenty-Six**

_Disclaimer: _I do not own the Carpathian Series.

Zane continued his contemplation for a while longer, until it was fully dark. As had happened the night before, mist began to seep under the door, swirling until it formed the bodies of his cousins. Vikirnoff, as usual, was the blunt one, cutting straight to the root of the problem. "Cousin, we feel your indecision about keeping your lifemate in this way. We needed to be sure that you would not attempt to release her for the mere sake of your guilt."

Zane looked away. "Vikirnoff, I fed from her last night. I exchanged blood with her. I thought that I had taken her memory of the experience, but when I went to her this morning, she was crying in the shower. I hurt her, Vikirnoff. I hurt the one most precious to me, my lifemate. It seems that I cannot keep from hurting her."

Vikirnoff looked sorrowful, but said, "Nevertheless, she cannot be released until-"

Zane broke in, shouting now, "Do you not understand? She is considering suicide! My lifemate would rather die than live this way! I cannot do this to her, I cannot!"

Nicolae spoke up. "Zane, if the situation is that serious, then you know the action that must be taken. You must convert Sierra, sooner rather than later. Only then can she be released."

Looking up at his cousins, anger in his eyes, Zane asked, "And what of your lifemates? What would you do if it was Natalya in this situation? What if it was Destiny?"

Both men gave him their stone faced looks. Vikirnoff said coldly, "That is not the point. Natalya did not force her way into this type of situation, nor is she here. There is no reason to bring up my lifemate."

A new voice spoke from behind him, so coldly that it made Vikirnoff's previous statement sound like a warm welcome. "Actually, Natalya _is _here."

Another one spoke, this one heated with the promise of wrath, "And Destiny is here too, just so everyone is aware."

The two Carpathian males spun around rapidly. Destiny stared at them condescendingly. "Did you really think we're so stupid that we would just sit at home and do nothing?"

Natalya nodded, "Yeah, and that we would just accept that bullshit story about how Sierra and Zane are 'busy trying to get to know each other'?"

Destiny went on. "We all, in turn, visited Sierra's apartment along with Zane. Each of us took our turn blending with the air molecules. Did you really think that we couldn't do that again if we wished?"

Natalya planted her hands on her hips as she turned a fierce glare to Zane. "How long were you going to keep your lifemate imprisoned? Did you really think that Sierra would be happy trapped in the basement, waiting for you to decide to come see her? This is exactly why she ran away: She was afraid a relationship that would be based solely on your decisions."

Vikirnoff mustered his bravery and stepped forward. "Natalya, that is not why Sierra ran away. She ran away merely because she did not want nor understand the grave responsibilities of being lifemate to a Carpathian male."

Natalya shook her head, "No, Vik. Listen here, that is not-"

'Vik' cut her off, clapping his hand over her mouth and speaking over her. "You are a woman, and are overly emotional. You do not understand how to truly separate yourself from your emotions. We," he gestured to himself, his brother, and his cousin, "have lived without emotions before, so we can think and rationalize our actions without feelings becoming a barrier to what must be done."

Natalya stood there for a moment. Vikirnoff gave a short yelp and hopped backwards in a very unwarrior-like move. He held up his hand for inspection. It was bleeding from a few vicious scrapes. Vikirnoff gave his lifemate a hurt look and healed his own palm.

She strode forward and jabbed Vikirnoff in the chest with a pointer finger. "First, I never want to hear you make such a sexist comment again. Second, you don't rationalize shit, he-man. Thirdly, I know why Sierra left Zane because it's the same reason I tried to leave you. Don't you remember? I handcuffed you, packed my bags, and was on my way out when you used the ritual words." She scowled with the memory. "I should have gagged you," she added, almost as an afterthought to herself.

Though the moment was serious, Zane and Nicolae burst into peals of laughter. Nicolae, gaining momentary control, cried, "Did she really handcuff you, Vikirnoff? So much for always being in control!"

Slight color rose in the Carpathian's cheeks and he opened his mouth to defend himself when Destiny spoke, her serious voice slicing cleanly through any joy. "And Nicolae, don't think you're escaping your part of this. I heard what you told Zane to do to Sierra. Really? You suggest forcing women to be converted, even against their will? Is that not the exact thing that the vampire did to me?"

Nicolae's face became deadly serious. "I know honey. I am sorry, but Sierra is too much of a liability."

Destiny formed her hands into fists. "Nicolae, you're really lucky that I'm not going to just hit you in the face right now! Come on, Natalya. Let's go see how Sierra's doing and leave the men to ponder where their brain cells escaped to."

Giving the men twin looks of condescension, the Carpathian females dissolved into mist and swirled down the stairs.

"Well," said Zane in the sudden silence, "that was not as bad as I feared it would be."

Sierra was on her bed, listening to the argument. Ever since the blood exchange, her senses had been heightened, including hearing. Calling on her knowledge from the books, she knew that she could control her own sensitivity. It had pained Sierra to hear the desperation in Zane's voice when he told his cousins about their blood exchange, but that was the same despair that had permeated her thoughts throughout the past few days.

Hearing Natalya and Destiny break in, Sierra began to cry softly. She had begun to believe that everyone judged her for running away and that she would be trapped in the lonely basement forever. Obviously, despite the trouble she had caused, Zane's cousin's lifemates did care. And now that they knew, Sierra would not be allowed to rot here. Yes, she had threatened suicide, but she wondered if she truly had the ability to simply give up.

Sierra heard the women proclaim that they were going to visit her. Such a profound sense of relief washed over her that she couldn't do anything other than to flow back on the bed. A minute or so later, she heard the soft hissing sound of mist flying in from under the door and a sound of sympathy from Destiny. Sierra leaned up, still letting the tears flow down her face.

Rage crossed Natalya's face. "Are you okay? If he hurt you at all…"

Destiny pulled her back. "Sierra, you don't know me, but I'm Destiny, Nicolae's lifemate. We just wanted to see how you're doing, but…" she too trailed off as she looked around the room.

Sierra nodded in understanding of the unspoken words. "Yeah, he's thought of everything. If you two hadn't shown up, I think he would have kept me here forever." The women glanced at each other. Sierra's voice held a hint of panic as she said, "Hang on; you won't leave me here, will you?"

Natalya shook her head. "We won't leave you here, but you have to promise us that you'll consider giving Zane another shot. You have to spend at least two weeks here with him, and then decide whether you still want to leave. We can't promise that he'll accept your decision should you decide to leave, but we can promise that he'll give you your time for consideration."

Destiny smiled slightly at Sierra. "So… do we have a deal?"

Feeling as though she was damning herself to hell, Sierra took a single, deep breath and nodded.

_Author's Note: _Okay, many, many apologies to all of the readers who were patient enough to wait for this. This year is hectic in the extreme, but I'm really going to try to make a better effort to write. If you're still reading this story, thanks so much. For those of you who messaged me and told me to get a move on, you really helped me, plus I smiled a little bit every time I read one of those messages. Anyway, know that I'm definitely going to update more often and thanks for sticking with me.

(o)/|\(o)


	27. Dark Flight Chapter Twenty-Seven

**Dark Flight Chapter Twenty-Seven**

_Disclaimer: _I do not own the Carpathian Series.

Zane was secretly gladdened when he glanced around and noticed that both Vikirnoff and Nicolae looked rather shell-shocked, as well. He smirked. Of all the things he had expected to happen in this conversation between he and his cousins, their lifemates appearing had not been one of them. Zane's imagination was not even that great. The trio sat in silence for a great deal of time, even as they heard voices downstairs. As the women discussed whatever they were discussing, Zane felt a new emotion: Hope. No matter how incredibly angry Natalya and Destiny were at him, they would always do their best to help him. He fervently prayed that his cousins' lifemates could convince Sierra to give him another chance… along with agreeing to not harm herself.

Soon, Zane felt another feeling, but this one was familiar: Pain. His cheek suddenly burned, but the burn faded quickly as he looked down to see Natalya standing in front of him, hand raised as if ready to deliver another blow. In the blink of an eye, Vikirnoff was there, gathering up his lifemate, forcing her arms against her body and holding her against him. He spoke softly, close to her ear. Zane could hear that the words were comforting, but Natalya did not appear to be soothed.

Glaring at Zane, she burst out with, "How could you? You really were planning to keep her there indefinitely, weren't you? You managed to change a happy, confident young woman into a cowering girl. Do you know what she said while we were down there? She asked us, terrified, if we were going to leave her down there. Sierra's frightened, insecure, and she may never regain her former self! Is that what you wanted, a completely obedient lifemate? Congratulations, you're well on your way!" With that last snarled comment, Natalya transformed back into mist and sped out of the room. Vikirnoff looked at Zane, shrugged, and then transformed himself, following his lifemate.

Zane, still at a loss for words, looked askance at Destiny, hoping for an explanation. She gazed back at him for a moment, sighed, and said deliberately, "I want you to know that Natalya and I are in complete agreement about the way you treated your lifemate. You should be ashamed, and I would dearly love to sweep out of here as well, leaving you to guess what all happened. However, I promised Sierra that I would discuss our plan with you so that there are no questions. I say this only once, so listen carefully." She took a deep breath and stepped to a chair, sinking down. Nicolae moved to stand behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder. Guiltily, Zane remembered that Destiny found it awkward to be in the company of others for long periods of time.

However, Destiny continued, doing her best to look unruffled. "Sierra has agreed to give you a trial period of two weeks. In those two weeks, she will stay with you, in this house but unrestricted within it. After those two weeks, she will decide whether to leave or stay and you will fully abide by her decision. Understood?"

Cold to his toes from the thought of losing Sierra, Zane nodded fervently. When he spoke, his voice all but broke with gratitude. "I understand, and I will do everything in my power to make up for my behavior. Thank you so much, Destiny, for helping convince Sierra to give me another chance."

Destiny's eyes slid away from him slightly. "Well, as things stand right now, I'm not sure if Sierra's giving you another chance because she wants to, or because she's scared of what the alternative might have been. Now, I would offer to go and release her from that room you have her in, but I think seeing you willing to give her freedom will help her mental state much more than anything else will." She grinned suddenly. "Plus, I think you deserve to clean up your own mess. No matter how close she may have been to completely giving in and shutting down, I think Sierra will be much more than you bargained for." With that, Destiny turned and walked out of the door.

Nicolae clapped Zane on the shoulder. "Well, cousin, it sounds like things are going to be pretty interesting around here for a while. Let me know how it goes, all right?" He sobered. "And Zane, even though he did not say it, Vikirnoff and I are terribly sorry for urging you to this conclusion. It was not fair to you or your lifemate for us to barge in. I hope things work out. Also, you really need to continue to convince her to finish the conversion. I have heard it can be extremely difficult for human women to live normal, healthy lives after even one blood exchange. It will be harder for her to eat or go out into the sun. But on the plus side, she will feel the need to touch your mind more often. That should help you. Best of luck, cousin. Long may you stay in the light." Within seconds, Nicolae was gone, too.

Zane stood in the room for a few seconds. He knew he had to go release Sierra, but he felt it was best to have a plan before going. He sank down in an armchair and let the heat return to his extremities. He had been physically cold with the thought that Sierra was going to leave him and never return. She still could. If his last brilliant decision was an example of his care for her, she probably should be urged to leave him and never look back. But for all of his courteousness and self-sacrifice, Zane did not think he would ever have the courage or selflessness to let Sierra leave him. Her bravery was never in question. His, on the other hand, had never been depended on less.

Sierra sat downstairs, waiting for someone to come release her. Hopefully, it wouldn't be Zane, but at this point, she would take anyone she could get. Honestly, she didn't know how she was going to survive the next two weeks, trapped in a house with who she had to begun to think of as her arch enemy, but if it meant she would be rid of him forever… it was more than a fair trade.

She heard footsteps heading steadily down the stairs. Sierra resolutely turned her face away from the door, but peeked when it opened to admit Zane. She turned away again. Just the sight of his face was enough to make her shake with anger. The footsteps drew closer to the bed, but he still wasn't saying anything. A hand grabbed Sierra's leg and she jumped, trying to pull it back, but the grasp was like iron. She kept her head down, letting her hair form a shield for her face. She peeked again. Zane was bent close to her ankle, placing a key in the manacle. A second of turning… and there, it snapped open. Sierra tried again to pull her leg back, but Zane continued to grasp it, giving a light caress.

"Zane!" Sierra snapped as she yanked her leg back and tucked it under her body. She had been thinking that she would sprint out of the room as soon as she was unchained so Zane couldn't change his mind, but for some reason, she felt as though she couldn't move while he was still in the room. Was it that she was afraid he was going to change his mind if she moved enough to notice him? For some stupid reason, yes, but the other reason was even worse: she was afraid of hurting his feelings. She mentally cursed herself. Why did she care what he thought, or if she hurt his feelings? Surely it was purely the lifemate bond.

She jumped again as Zane began to speak in a low, hesitant voice. "Sierra, there will never be a way for me to make up for how I have treated you. There is no excuse, so I will simply tell you that I am sorrier than you will ever know." He sat in silence for a few moments. Another peek told Sierra that he was sitting at the end of her bed, not facing her, but staring off into space.

After a few more beats of silence, Zane said in that same hesitant voice, "Do you think you will ever be able to look at me again, or speak to me?" He left the question hanging, but when she didn't answer, he went on. "I would greatly miss your face and your voice, and just you, Sierra. I already miss you. Despite what I wrongly thought was best for you, I would never have been able to keep you down here for very long. I could not stand to feel so distant from you. Did you ever miss me on your many travels?" Once again, Sierra didn't answer.

Did he really think it was this simple? One short apology and she would give in and completely forgive him? Because, much as she hated it, he may have been right. She was slowly beginning to melt. Sierra had always been good at seeing both sides of a situation, and knowing that Zane truly had her best interests in mind did make her feel a little better. It was simply the idiotic way he had tried to keep her safe that had landed him in so much trouble. Part of her willingness to forgive him may have come from the lifemate bond, but in truth, Sierra had never been able to hold a grudge. She straightened her back and threw back her shoulders. Bad reasoning or not, Zane had no right to infringe upon her basic freedom.

"Zane, listen," she winced. Had her voice always been that flat and harsh, or was it just from the growing pressure of trying to hold herself separate from Zane? "I may be talking to you now, and I may be able to look at you, but it will never be with the same respect." Zane stiffened as though she had shot him, but she continued. "You took away my choices, my freedom, and a big chunk of my self-respect. You kept me in this room as a kind of closet blood supply and for that, I could easily never speak to you again. When we first met, I was on the verge of being raped by a boyfriend who wouldn't listen to my opinion. I hope that sounds familiar. I have my own mind, and my own ability to decide things for myself. Independence is important to me, and you violated that when you decided the only option for me was to be shut in a room with my life controlled for me."

Sierra stopped to take a deep breath and collect her thoughts. "In the spirit of being honest with you, yes, believe it or not, I did miss you when I was running from you, but I never got the chance to see if it was me truly liking you, or if it was all from the lifemate bond. You robbed me of the opportunity to see if we could have had something all on our own. That chance is gone now. I don't know what's going to happen after these two weeks are over, but if this conversation is your way of trying to get a guaranteed 'yes', you're horribly mistaken." She slid off of the bed and stormed up the stairs. Was she scared of her feelings for Zane? Yes. Was she scared that she was going to fall in love with him deeply enough to forgive him? Yes. In the back of her mind, the thought surfaced that she had thought she would never see these stairs again. And that thought scared her most of all.

_Author's Note:_

_There you go! And in case it's some kind of secret, you have no idea how much it makes my day when you guys post a review. Thanks to those who have!_


	28. Dark Flight Chapter Twenty-Eight

**Dark Flight Chapter Twenty-Eight**

_Disclaimer:_ I do not own the Carpathian Series.

Zane gazed after Sierra's shadowy silhouette as she darted up the stairs. He had once held everything perfect right in his hand, and he had ruined it all simply by trying to prove he could control his lifemate. Instead, now she was distrustful, and who could blame her? His only prayer was that he might be able to make things better before it was too late.

His head snapped up suddenly, and his hearing was turned as loud as was possible. Sierra was standing in front of the front door with her hand resting on the knob. Zane had to fix things, but if Sierra tried to leave him before two weeks had even started, he would have no choice but to bring her back, which would once again destroy her trust in him… if she had any left at this point. He heard a slight whoosh as the door swung open and a gentle thud as it closed again. Zane listened as hard as he could, but there was no getting around the fact that Sierra was no longer in the house.

Zane nearly flew up the stairs and out onto the front porch before coming to an abrupt halt. Sierra was standing very, very still at the edge of the porch. Her arm was twined around one of the pillars that supported the ceiling. She gazed out into the night. Her heart was racing, but there was no adrenaline coursing through her veins as there would have been if she had been on the verge of running once again. Zane stood and watched her for a little while, trying to imagine what she must be doing, thinking. When she still did not move, he slowly approached, moving so he could see her face as he neared.

She never took her eyes from the night, seeming not even to blink, but tears were streaming frantically down her face. Instantly, his heart broke. He glided over to stand just behind her steady back, and gently wrapped his arms around her. She stiffened for a mere moment, then turned to bury her face in his chest. He dared not breathe, in case that may break the spell. She murmured something, a rush of words that not even his highly attuned hearing could catch.

"What was that, _csitri_?" Zane asked, trying very hard to keep his voice low and soothing.

Sierra raised her tear-streaked face up to his, the liquid tracks gleaming like silver in the glow of the moon. "I never thought I was going to be outside again." She once again placed her face against his chest.

If Zane's heart was broken before, now it shattered completely. "My beautiful _sivamet_, you are my very heart. I can never tell you how I regret giving you so much doubt in me. It is only with time that I can once again prove that you can place your trust in me. You are my only love, and your slightest pain is agony to me. I beg of you, give me the opportunity to prove my worth to you again."

He reached between them to set his fingers under her chin and gently pulled her face up so that he could look at her once again. Slowly, giving her time to push him away, Zane placed a tender kiss on Sierra's forehead. She blinked, sending more tears rushing along the trails down her cheeks, but stood on her tiptoes, reaching her arm up to pull his head down to hers. "Thank you," she whispered. He opened his mouth to ask what she was thanking him for, but she was already kissing him.

Sierra didn't know what was going on with her. One moment, she had been upstairs, pacing around the living room and fuming about Zane's apology, and the next, she was standing in front of the door. She had stared out into the night, disbelieving how beautiful everything was. She couldn't bear to have glass between herself and the nighttime air, so she had let herself out of the house. She had stood outside, looking at the way the moonlight painted everything silver, from the whispering leaves on the trees to the solid, cold reality of Zane's concrete driveway.

Sierra didn't know when she had started to cry, but it seemed like an appropriate thing to do, in the face of the wonder of nature. Maybe due to her blood exchange with Zane, everything seemed closer. She felt as though she reach up and scoop a handful of stars from the sky. The wind seemed to be whispering to her, the insects telling her the secrets of nature. Then Zane had stood behind her, and he had fit in so perfectly with nature, fit in so perfectly with Sierra. She had felt immediate comfort with him near, even more so than before. Then he had touched her and her body had gone haywire, but even that matched the rhythms of their corner of the world. The sheer magic of the moment made her cry even harder, and she had accepted Zane's touch without a second thought, turning in his arms without thought, all so she could press herself closer to him.

Then the next thing Sierra knew, she had been kissing him. Yes, he had kissed her first, a chaste kiss on the forehead, but she couldn't seem to keep herself from dragging his mouth down to meet hers. In the vague memories of the moment before their lips had met, she remembered thanking him for this moment, but how could he have possibly known what she had meant?

Sierra pulled away from Zane, twisting to escape his grasp, color staining her cheeks as she blushed helplessly. Zane didn't let her escape that easily, though. He pulled her body back in, close to his, making sure her face was free. He looked down at her and brushed a cool hand over her cheek. "What is this for?" he asked. "Do not be embarrassed. That was very nice. Very… enticing." His eyes darkened and Sierra was abruptly reminded of how very striking he was. His face was perfection, without a single flaw to mar the sheer masculine beauty.

If she didn't watch out, Sierra might forget just how much she didn't want to forgive Zane. To distract herself, she finished pulling out of Zane's embrace. "Why did you come out here anyway?" she asked, wiping at the tears.

Zane grasped her hand, pulling it down to her side and away from her face. He twined his fingers through hers as he smoothed the tears away with his other hand. "Why did you come out here?"

A horrible thought occurred to Sierra. "Did you think I was running away when I walked out? Did you follow me to keep me from leaving or something? Because let me tell you right now, I said I was going to stay here for two weeks, and when I say I'm going to do something, I do it, unlike others I could name." She tried to draw her hand away from his, but Zane refused to let go.

"Sierra, I know you are angry with me, and you have more than enough reason to be. Yes, the thought did cross my mind that you may be trying to leave again, but I was more concerned that something else might happen to you. Carpathians are not the only ones who roam the night. Also, I never doubted your word. I trust you will fairly give me two full weeks to win your trust, if not your heart. I would say we are off to a good start, are we not?" A dark smile curved his full lips. He raised his free hand to her mouth and affectionately caressed the spot where her lip piercing used to be. "What happened to that delicate little ring that used to sit here? I will admit that I have fantasized times about that ring."

Sierra gaped up at him and Zane smiled. "In honor of our second try, I am attempting to be fully honest with you, about everything. That includes my thoughts and fantasies. I hope you will share as much of you as I am sharing of myself. For instance, I love your beautiful hands," he raised their hands, fingers entwined, and laid a languid kiss on the back of her hand. His eyes peeked over her wrist, a dark amusement dancing in their depths. "If I might ask, what is something of mine you find attractive?"

She opened her mouth to say she couldn't possibly share that with him, but instead, "Your eyes," popped out. Those eyes laughed up at her as he let their hands drift back down. He moved closer, forcing her to look up at him at an even steeper angle. "Really?" he sounded slightly amused, but his voice kept its deep, velvety quality as he commanded, "Tell me more about my eyes."

Sierra blushed again and looked away. "I don't know, they're just…" she trailed off in embarrassment. Zane's eyes caught her again, and she went on, as if in a trance. "Your eyes are just so expressive. I love how they can look dark and deadly, or firm and serious, or all liquid and sexy. But the times I like best of all are when you're happy and laughing, and it seems like your eyes are laughing too, dancing around and showing just how happy you are. Eyes are the windows to the soul, and your eyes show just how special your soul really is."

She blushed so hard she got dizzy and turned her face away from Zane, letting the cool night air rustle its way over her skin, refreshing her. A low laugh behind her made the heat come back. "Well, if you were just going to laugh at me, I don't know why you asked. I do enough stupid things on my own without your help." After a moment of quiet, Zane tried to turn her toward him again, but she refused. Suddenly, Zane's face was right in front of hers. Before Sierra could react, he was kissing her, deep and scorching.

He pulled away, leaving her gasping for air. "What was that all about?" she asked between breaths.

Zane leaned his forehead against hers. "Every time I think I know what to expect from you, you surprise me. That was more than I could have hoped for, and I thank you very much for the compliments. You are amazing, lifemate of mine."

Sierra shook her head, but couldn't keep the smile off of her face. "You are one crazy man, but I think I can learn to like it." She froze, realizing that, for the first time, she had admitted to the possibility of a life with Zane.

Zane grew serious as well. "Do you think you can learn to like it even if I am a crazy Carpathian, instead of being a crazy man?"

She closed her eyes. "I don't know, Zane. I'm trying to wrap my mind around everything, but we're moving a little too fast here. I mean, half an hour ago, I never wanted to see you again, and now we're laughing together and kissing. I know this sounds like a cheap excuse, but I need a little time." She didn't want to say the other part that worried her out loud, but she didn't see any way around it…

Zane laughed. "Sierra, I am more than happy to give you time. Your every wish is mine as well." He dropped his voice to false conspirator's whisper. "And do not fear. I am not going to force you to do anything you are not ready for. We have eternity to make love, and it will be all the more sweet for the waiting." She flushed and he grinned, flashing white teeth. "This blush is quite becoming, as well."

She tried to back up to something he had said earlier. "Zane, that's part of it. We don't have eternity. We've only exchanged blood once, and it isn't an experience I would care to repeat. Ever."

Once again, the grin dropped off of his face. "Yet another thing I can never apologize for enough. I will regret that incident until the day I die, whenever that may be. Sierra, I understand if you do not wish to become a Carpathian for other reasons, but as for blood exchanges, they can be much more pleasant than the one you experienced."

Sierra shook her head. "I don't think you understand. It isn't only the exchanging of blood that I object to; I don't think I would want to be Carpathian. I really like who I am, and I don't want to change that. Add in the pain of the conversion, and I would much rather age and eventually die. Does that change anything between us?"

"Never, _csitri_. I will respect whatever decision you make, and we will both live by it. I will age and die with you if that is what you choose, but we would likely have to move to live near other Carpathians. Vampires would continue to find me, even if I was aging, and I would eventually be unable to protect you. However, I would like to mention that the women who have been through the conversion think it is well worth it. You would not be going through it alone, either. I am able to take some of the pain away from you. Also, our species is in danger of extinction. Every couple that can survive needs to so they can help us to repopulate."

"And as a final point, you say you like who you are and you do not want to change. I understand that, as I like the person you are, too, but you are already changed. The experiences you have had since meeting me have changed you, the people you have met have changed you, and if I am allowed to continue to be around you, I will change you as well. The question you should ask yourself is if it is a good change or not."

Sierra held up a hand. "Those are all good points, Zane, but I just don't know if I'm willing to give up my humanity. Can we just agree to talk about this later? I'm getting sleepy."

Zane smiled. "Of course we can continue this conversation at a later time. It is nearly four thirty in the morning and the sun will be rising soon, so your timing is wonderful. But first, one more thing about the conversion: Since we have exchanged blood once already, it will be more difficult for you to be awake during the day, and nearly impossible for you to be in the sunlight. Eating will be more difficult as well. You can still live, but it will require some changes. I am sorry. But all of that can wait until tomorrow night."

Before she could respond, Zane changed the topic. He gave a flowing half-bow and held out a gentlemanly hand. "Sierra, would you do me the honor of sleeping on the bed in my chamber? I must sleep below the earth, but in this fashion, I will know you are near, even when I am aware of little else." She didn't respond immediately, and Zane began to speak again. "Or, if you would rather, I can prepare a different room… perhaps the room next to mine? Or maybe you would prefer a room upstairs in the house…"

Sierra shook her head and smiled. "Be quiet, crazy man. I would be glad to sleep in your chamber, as long as you don't pop out like a zombie or anything in the middle of the day."

Zane remained serious. "I can make no promises." At her worried look, he laughed and gave her a fleeting kiss. "Do not fret so, my darling. I was merely jesting." She stuck out her tongue at him, then accepted his still-offered hand.

As they made their way back into the house, Sierra's thoughts were racing. Did she forgive Zane? Heck, no. Was she going to forgive him anytime soon? She didn't know. Was she as angry at him now as she had been earlier in the evening? Not even close. The Zane she had seen tonight was a man – or a Carpathian – who she could very well see herself spending the rest of her life with. But how much of herself would she have to give up in the process?

_Author's Note:_ I hope everyone enjoyed this one. I should have another chapter out soon. What do you think? Should she be more mad at him than she is right now? I hate to say this as I think it makes me sound crazy, but I don't really have much control over what's happening. I start the scene and they just kind of... go. Anyway, sorry it's been a while. Maybe some of you saw that I started another story, a Peter Pan fanfiction and I'll warn you: Not only is it written in a darker style, it's super depressing right now. Just take it - or read it - with a grain of salt, okay? Thanks!


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